


The Final Tally

by DawnOfTomorrow



Series: Money can't buy Happiness [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AU, Chris is NOT helping, Frustration, Lack of Communication, M/M, Misunderstandings, Phichit is NOT helping, Pining, Unreliable Narrator, Victor is a CIO, Victor is rich, Yuuri Katsuki is shy, Yuuri is an accountant, or are they?, victor is thirsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:35:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 34,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28184013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnOfTomorrow/pseuds/DawnOfTomorrow
Summary: It’s been a month since Yuuri walked out on Victor during their company event in New York – and his extended sick leave is finally over. He HAS to go back to work, he has no choice. He hopes Victor at least hasn’t spread word of what he’s done around the office.Victor has been demanding updates from Chris every single day, and yet when Yuuri finally comes back, he calls in sick. He’s been picking up the pieces of his heart for a month – he’s not ready to have Yuuri step on it again.Part 3 of 3 - The Resolution
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri & Victor Nikiforov, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Series: Money can't buy Happiness [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064534
Comments: 172
Kudos: 272





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri took a deep breath before stepping through the glass doors of the lobby of his building.

He nodded to the receptionist like always, used his pass to activate the elevator, and headed to his floor.

It was like he hadn’t missed a day – except he had. Not just a day, but a whole month, actually.

He’d been surprised that he still even HAD a job when he emailed Chris to ask after three weeks – and got told he had a month-long ‘health break’ to get himself in line.

He hasn’t been brave enough to ask why the HR head had protected him – and really, he didn’t need to. Chris was Victor’s best friend, Victor had said so himself…

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out onto the accounting floor. Very little had changed – well, except that the Halloween decorations from before his trip to New York were gone, and the first Christmas items had shown up, just a few snowflake decorations here and a merry Christmas banner there.

He slunk to his desk, where unsurprisingly, Phichit was waiting. His friend was the only person he’d told everything.

He’d paid a fortune on his already overpriced ticket back to Detroit in order to have phone service on the plane – and he’d confessed everything.

Phichit had been… well, surprised. Supportive, even. Yuuri didn’t meet his eyes as he greeted the other man with a soft ‘hey’.

His friend smiled and gently patted his shoulder. “Welcome back. I got you a hello donut from across the street.”

Phichit moved in order to let him see the little paper bag behind him.

Yuuri forced himself to smile. He sat down and opened the bag – indeed, there was a chocolate donut, his favourite.

“Thanks.”

“Are you really ready to be back?” Phichit asked softly.

Yuuri shrugged. “My month is up. Besides, I can’t… I mean, I had to come back at some point.”

“I know, I know… it’s just… well, if it’s any consolation, he’s not here.”

Yuuri flinched so hard he nearly dropped his donut.

“N-No?”

“Yeah, I had the receptionist check and he didn’t sign in.”

“Maybe he’s late.” Yuuri muttered and but his snack.

“Doubt it, he’s usually on time, and he gets here an hour before us. So today, at least, you’re in the clear.”

It didn’t feel like it.

It felt even less like it when he was summoned to Chris’ office half an hour later.

Fighting the urge to run, he headed there, feeling like he was about to be executed.

“H-Hi Mr. Giacometti…” he mumbled as he walked in.

“Yuuri, come in, sit down. Please don’t suddenly start calling me by my last name.”

He winced a little. “S-Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I have some paperwork I need you to sign please.”

He accepted a stack of papers, and blindly signed on each indicated line.

“W-What are these?”

“Your application for a sabbatical. Citing health reasons. Your weekly reports and finally you’re declaration you’re fit to come back.” Chris chirped, undaunted by Yuuri’s gloomy expression.

“Thanks. For helping me.” He said – he was careful not to ask why Chris had done so. He knew it was because of Victor, but not whether it was because Victor was embarrassed, or guilty, or…

“No trouble. You’re a great asset to our company… and after what you did for me, the last thing I want is for another asset to scare you off this company.” Chris’ smile was positively menacing.

Yuuri winced. Asset? Well, he was an accountant and obviously, his company needed those.

He kept signing the papers, now fighting the urge to ask Chris about Victor – was he okay, did he even still remember Yuuri?

He succeeded in keeping quiet.

* * *

Victor listlessly picked up the phone without checking who was calling.

“Hey.” Chris chirped, in a smug tone that immediately let him know his friend knew something.

He jumped up in bed, startling Makka.

“Chris! What’s up! Is… is he back?”

His friend hummed. “Yup. Had him in here signing some paperwork earlier.”

Victor sighed. “How is he?”

“Hm… I mean you could come in and find out. But since I know you won’t… he was nervous. Worried. Apologised for causing trouble.”

“Did he… say anything about me?” Victor asked, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Chris sighed. “No. Sorry.”

The disappointment sat heavy in Victor’s stomach.

What had he expected? Yuuri had been the one to walk out, the one to leave him behind.

“Give him a few days.” Chris said, his voice unusually gentle.

Victor snorted. “Give him a few days before what? I… I’ve gotten the message. He doesn’t want me. I’m not going to… force him.”

“You’re not the type to just give up.” Chris admonished – and Victor huffed.

“No, you’re right, but I can take a hint. The last time you said that and I listened, I ended up driving him to not come to work for a MONTH. I’m not risking that again.”

“Victor, I just-” Chris began, but Victor ended the call before he could finish. What had happened wasn’t Chris’ fault, but that didn’t mean he had to be… happy about it.

He reached over to pet Makka.

He’d keep his word – he’d go back to work, and things would go back to normal, and he’d get over Yuuri. He had to.

* * *

A week into being back at work, Yuuri allowed himself to relax, finally. He no longer jumped at his own shadow, finally stopped worrying that Victor was hiding behind every potted plant in the damn office, just waiting to jump out and humiliate Yuuri.

That a small part of him would have _liked_ to see Victor, he refused to even acknowledge in the privacy of his mind.

No, things were fine. Normal.

Nothing odd about being way-too-aware of a man just a few floors above Yuuri – and utterly unreachable to him.

He sighed, stretching out at his desk.

Was he really THAT pathetic?

Phichit gave him a concerned look.

Yes, apparently he WAS that pathetic.

“I have a delivery for Katsuki!” An exceptionally annoyed voice called out, and Yuuri scrambled off his desk towards the delivery guy – he looked like he was barely out of high school.

“That’s me!”

“Congrats. Sign here.” The grumpy blond kid ordered, before thrusting a box into Yuuri’s hands and stalking off.

Yuuri stared after him for a few moments before looking at his delivery – he didn’t normally get anything delivered to work. He hesitantly sat and carefully cut into the packaging. Whatever it was wasn’t particularly heavy – in fact, it was just a small booklet and two unmarked CDs.

He corrected himself mentally a few moments later – it was a small photo album. He stared anxiously down at the pictures inside. They were professionally printed… and they showed him, dancing with Victor.

In the Maldives. He’d had no idea their dance competition participation had been recorded – and the pictures were exquisite, he had to admit.

Swallowing down the pain that welled up inside of him, he put one of the two disks into his computer and played the video on it.

Not unexpectedly, it was a recording of their dance together. The whole thing – from when Victor had laughingly pulled him on the stage, from when Yuuri had nudged him to bow to the audience… the moment when he’d dipped Victor, the other man’s body pressed intimately against his… the moments when they’d spun, giggling quietly, and entirely forgetting they were on a stage.

Only the last part surprised him – the video showed the last moments of the dance as well, where Yuuri had bowed again, an arm wrapped around Victor’s middle and smiling to the people below. Victor _hadn_ ’ _t_ looked at them – no, apparently, he’d looked at Yuuri.

With an expression that made him pause the video. Because… because Victor looked absolutely _smitten_.

Yuuri hadn’t ever turned to look at him before walking off the stage again, and he deeply regretted that now. The way Victor had looked at him… he hadn’t known.

He hadn’t KNOWN.

How could he not have known?

When an anxiety attack dug its ugly claws into his throat and choked him up, he wasn’t even surprised – he just stumbled towards the bathroom, hoping his legs wouldn’t give out first.


	2. Chapter 2

Victor was staring at the ceiling of his office. He’d already done his workload for the day – which to be fair was mostly just signing off on implementation plans for other office branches – and now he was just… well, dreading going home.

He had about two more hours left in a normal workday and he was hesitant to leave.

There was no logical reason – none other than that he was pretty sure Yuuri was a few floors underneath him.

Pathetic.

A knock on his door nearly knocked him off his chair.

“Yes?” he called out – no response.

A little annoyed, he got up and walked over – he wasn’t in the mood for whatever fidgety intern had an idea to tell him about that day.

Except… except there was nobody on the other side of the door.

He gaped at the empty hallway for a few seconds before shaking his head – a ding-dong-ditch? Surely not at a Fortune 500 company? There had to be an explanation, right?

He waited a few more seconds, before moving to close the door again – or at least almost closing the door. He was stopped when something brightly colored caught his eye – a small, gift-wrapped thing. He picked it up from where it sat in front of his door – it was almost certainly a CD of some kind.

Glancing around the hallway one more time, he sighed and took it to his desk. Apparently, the cowardly interns with the ‘revolutionary’ ideas were getting even more cowardly if they didn’t even have the guts to present their ideas in person anymore.

He studied the pink and orange wrapping paper – it was covered in hearts, of all things, and even had a bow on it.

Cringing a little, he ripped it off – indeed, there was an unmarked CD inside. Sighing quietly, he opened a VM and put the CD into his computer – no reason not to be cautious, however unlikely it was that the CD contained something dangerous.

He frowned. All it had on it was a video file – he examined it, but really, it was what it appeared to be.

Curious now, he clicked on it, expecting some kind of visual presentation, or… something.

Literally anything other than what he saw though – which was an achingly familiar scene – himself an Yuuri, walking a few steps up onto a stage.

He knew every second of what came after and looked anyway. Yuuri spinning them, Yuuri moving to the music, himself following along, completely spellbound. His breath hitched when he watched Yuuri dip him confidently – just like it had in the moment.

And then, their dance was over, and Yuuri bowed to their audience.

Victor winced a little when he looked at his own face. Had he really been so _obvious_?

He picked up his phone and texted Chris. ‘Bring me alcohol.’

Then, while waiting for his friend, he set the video to loop and watched it again.

* * *

“You did WHAT?” Yuuri screamed, uncaring that half the office turned their heads towards him.

Phichit shrugged. “There were two CDs. I gave him the other one.”

“Y-Y-You! You had no right!” Yuuri snapped – his friend looked unbothered.

“He’s in the video. He deserves to have his copy.”

“He doesn’t WANT it!” he hissed.

Phichit shrugged and unwrapped another piece of string cheese. “Then he can throw it out.”

“What if he thinks that I gave it to him?” he whined, rubbing both hands over his face.

Phichit froze, suspiciously. He squinted at his friend, only for the other man to cough awkwardly.

“Now that you mention it, he may well be thinking that. I, uh, wrapped it?”

“You what?”

“Well, I thought it would look nicer, so I used the paper I had left from when I sent you that pack of-”

Yuuri silenced him with a look. “The paper you had _left over_? The one with the _hearts_?”

Phichit ate his string cheese in one bite. “I’ll be back after lunch!”

Yuuri watched his friend flee the office, fighting the urge to chase after him and strangle him.

He sighed wearily – what had Victor thought? No doubt, he’d thrown it out, but…

Yuuri had watched it on repeat constantly, since getting it. The little photo album sat in the top drawer of his desk, to his shame. If the CD had been a record, he’d have worn it out by now, probably.

Thankfully it wasn’t – he could watch the unbelievable proof of his stupidity over and over.

He’d been a little surprised at his own takeaway from what he’d seen – he’d expected embarrassment, at how inappropriate he’d been, he’d expected to miss Victor, he’d expected just about anything other than the singular thought that kept spinning in his mind when he saw Victor look at him after their dance – ignoring anything else, _he had broken Victor’s heart_.

And that… that was the worst thing he could think of. He could deal with his own heartbreak, he could deal with Victor being angry, all of that. But the thought of having _hurt_ the other man was nearly unbearable.

Every fibre of his being wanted to make it better – unfortunately, he was also aware that the best way of doing so would be to stay away, to let Victor heal all by himself. Yuuri would only make it worse if he did anything, he was sure.

* * *

“This is pathetic.” Chris chirped as he watched Victor put away the album.

“You can’t even pretend to be nice?” Victor lamented.

“I could, but I won’t. Because it IS pathetic.” Chris said, glancing at the album. It held photos of course – some of them Victor had taken of himself and Yuuri, others were stills he’d pulled from the video. Victor _knew_ it was pathetic, but really, couldn’t Chris be nicer about it?

He sighed.

“Why don’t you just… talk to him. He gave you the video. If that’s not trying to make contact…” Chris said, sounding entirely too reasonable.

“No. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want me. I’m going to respect his wishes.”

“Then why the CD?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he just got two and thought I deserved to have one or something…?”

“So he’s still thinking about you. That’s something.”

“No, it’s not. It’s… he doesn’t want me. He wanted ‘Victor the escort’, not ‘Victor the CIO’, and DEFINITELY not ‘Victor the hot mess’.” He snapped at his friend.

Chris waved him off, refilling his glass.

“Isn’t that his decision?”

“It is, and he made it when he walked out of the hotel.”

“You’re not giving him enough credit. I mean, you did just sort of shake up the last two months of his life.”

Victor laughed mirthlessly. “Yes, and it took him a MONTH to come back to work. I’m not going to… to hurt him again.”

“No, instead you’re going to hurt yourself. Clearly, much smarter.” Chris groused.

He clenched his jaw. “Look, I can deal with it. I just…” he trailed off, unsure what he had even meant to say.

Chris smiled weakly. “I’m _telling_ you, you’re underestimating that boy. And you’re not doing either of you any favours by not talking.”

He mutely shook his head.

* * *

Yuuri was _drunk_. Not yet blackout drunk, but definitely past the ‘making sensible decisions’ point of drunkenness.

He knew this.

He didn’t let it stop him though, from tapping away at his phone for a while. It wasn’t even a conscious choice, but he was bored. Phichit was off to the bathroom of the club they were in, and wouldn’t be back for a while, he knew. So, what else was he supposed to do, other than to pass the time?

He sighed softly, just as someone entered his field of vision.

A man, about his age – well-groomed, long-ish brown hair that framed his mischievous grin, and brown eyes to match his hair.

“Hey, do you dance?” the stranger asked.

Yuuri chuckled. “You asking?”

The man leaned closer – he was attractive if not exactly Yuuri’s type.

“If you swing that way, yeah. I’m Leo.”

“Yuuri!” He said and got up – why not dance with the man for a while? He seemed nice enough.

He tapped at his phone a few times to lock it, annoyed when it did odd things instead of locking – at least, after a few tries, he finally managed it, pocketing the thing and accepting Leo’s hand.

It wasn’t exactly a paso doble on a stage, but it beat the hell out of sitting in a barstool bored out of his skull.

* * *

Victor stared in confusion at his phone. It had buzzed in the middle of the night, which it rarely did. He kept it silent – the only notifications that came through were from a few emergency contacts he’d assigned special privileges to.

And… and Yuuri. He’d followed the other man’s social media – space as they were – after Chris had shown him, and he’d never unfollowed him.

Yuuri had just posted for the first time in, well, forever – a blurry photo of a club, of the dance floor of it. Underneath was the caption ‘Cme meet mee’, followed by a series of nonsensical hashtags about dogs, homesickness, and knitting of all things.

He gulped – it was safe to assume Yuuri was drunk. And drunk Yuuri... meant bad things, historically speaking.

A wave of worry swept over him – was the other man okay? Was he safe? Was he... with someone else? Maybe a real escort this time?

Victor whined quietly and looked at the post again – while the location wasn’t tagged, he knew he could figure out the geodata easily.

Except that that was a violation of Yuuri’s privacy and he had no reason to do it. None at all.

None.

Except... Was Yuuri okay?

Cursing quietly, Victor got out of bed and turned on his laptop, getting dressed as he did.


	3. Chapter 3

Yuuri was having a great time dancing – first with Leo, then a few other someone’s, and finally Leo again.

It was fun. He needed fun – he hadn’t had any in a while.

Then, his eyes caught sight of something sparkly across the dance floor – he paid it no attention until it came closer, and closer.

Then, he was roughly yanked around and came face to face with what had to be a mirage.

He gently touched Victor’s face, expecting it to disappear as soon as he did. No such thing happened – Victor’s expression didn’t even change. It just showed some kind of guarded distance.

“Hi!” he mumbled breathlessly, smitten as always. “You’re so beautiful...”

Victor didn’t respond – but he did link their hands together and pulled him away, so that was something. He followed happily.

* * *

Victor stared down at the man in front of him, asking himself what was wrong with him.

He’d dragged Yuuri away from the man he had been dancing with like a caveman, and Yuuri had let him.

Once Yuuri had called him beautiful, he’d simply... simply stopped thinking, and let his heart make the decisions – at least for a few minutes.

He’d wanted to send him home, but Yuuri had refused, babbling incoherently as he had done so.

So Victor had done the inky thing he could think of – he’d taken Yuuri to the nearest hotel, rented a room, and had all but carried Yuuri to bed.

The man had gone from drunk to asleep in record time, which left Victor with a passed out Yuuri and no idea how to act.

Was he supposed to help him undress? Surely it was okay to take off Yuuri’s shoes and belt so he could be comfortable?

Yet at the same time, just his being there was already a gross violation of Yuuri’s privacy, not to mention several of the many promises he’d made himself regarding Yuuri.

Then there was the fact that he was itching to touch the other man – out of sheer self-spite, he didn’t want to give in to that urge.

In the end, his desire for Yuuri to be comfy won over everything else.

With a sigh, he pulled off Yuuri’s shoes and gently removed his belt before unbuttoning his shirt a bit – carefully, without touching Yuuri’s skin.

He stepped back – almost immediately, Yuuri curled up with a happy hum, a smile on his sleeping face.

Victor smiled as well, allowing himself to run his hand through Yuuri’s hair just once, before silently leaving the hotel room, the key safely on Yuuri’s bedside table.

He had to snicker at the irony of the situation as he texted his driver to pick him up again.

* * *

“And you have no idea what happened?” Phichit asked the next morning.

Yuuri had gotten up and washed his face before calling his friend – and after panicking about why he was in a hotel room and how he got there.

“None.” He confirmed, listlessly chewing the sandwich room service had delivered him a little while ago.

“And you just woke up there? Alone?”

“Mhm.”

“No note?”

“Nope.”

“Did you check in yourself?”

“Bank app says no, and I didn’t have enough cash on me. Or withdraw any.”

Phichit hummed while Yuuri chewed.

“Strange. But I guess... Good strange? I mean I was really worried when you just disappeared.”

“I was pretty drunk.”

“Clearly, if you don’t even remember what happened! Do you remember the post?”

“The what?”

“Oh, you posted on Instagram last night.”

Yuuri awkwardly put Phichit on speaker and tapped around on his phone for a minute.

“Uhm which one is Instagram?”

Phichit gave a long-suffering sigh.

“Purply camera symbol.”

Yuuri grinned triumphantly when he spotted it and opened it to look at his post. It was just a shitty picture from the club, but the caption made him pause.

“Why did I tag this with knitting life?” he asked – Phichit snorted.

* * *

Victor hadn’t really expected to hear from Yuuri after he’d taken him to the hotel, but he was still disappointed when he didn’t.

At the very least he’d seen to it that Yuuri was safe.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. What sort of a clown acted like he did? He pressed the spacebar on his keyboard to pause the dance video and picked up his phone to dial Chris’ office. His friend currently wasn’t picking up his own calls, so he had to go through his secretary – who thankfully was too intimidated by him to reject his calls.

“Hey, Guang-Hong… yeah I need to speak to Chris. YES, it is about work. No, really this time.”

And just like that, he found himself in a meeting room with a sour-looking Chris less than a half-hour later.

“If I find out you lied to Guang-Hong…” Chris greeted him.

Victor waved him off. “I did, but only sort of. It is actually about work.”

“Fine. What do you want?”

“What overlap is there between my department and accounting?”

“Basically none. Are you avoiding Yuuri even harder now?”

“Actually…”

* * *

Yuuri was trying to stay calm. So what if he’d been ordered to make a presentation for a brand-new IT project? So what if they’d asked him to work out budgeting options even though he knew absolutely nothing about IT? So what if he’d been called to present these options in front of a whole gaggle of the head honchos of his company?

So what if he was terrified of public speaking?

He gulped and clutched his folder a little harder. Someone lightly knocked on the milky-glass door… and that meant he was up.

Yuuri straightened up and took a deep breath, praying his fingers weren’t shaking as he walked in. He was immediately met with a number of semi-familiar faces – including the CEO and CFO. It wasn’t them that really drew Yuuri’s attention though – no, that honour went to the CIO, who was sitting at the head of the oval table, blue eyes fixed on Yuuri.

Even his anxiety froze in terror when he made eye-contact with the other man. Victor’s face was expressionless – only his slightly twitchy hands, tapping away at a folder on his desk, revealed that he wasn’t as calm as he seemed.

Yuuri gulped and turned his attention away – he had a presentation to give.

He’d have time to break down into a sobbing mess later.

* * *

Victor sighed deeply as he slouched into his chair. His heart was still racing. Despite the whole thing being entirely his plan, he hadn’t been _ready_ to see Yuuri – nor the naked terror in the man’s face when he spotted Victor.

A mean part of him had actually enjoyed seeing Yuuri like that… but if he was honest with himself, for the most part, he’d just been happy. Yuuri looked like he was doing okay… better than Victor, probably.

After a few false starts and a bit of stuttering, he’d given a killer presentation on a subject Victor knew he knew very little about – the entire board had taken notice, actually. It had been incredibly easy to suggest proceeding with further negotiations on the topic – which meant, he had to work with Yuuri.

He grinned to himself and spun around in his chair. If things went according to plan, there would be plenty of opportunities for them to get closer again – without the lying this time.

“Victor?” Chris called from the doorframe – he hadn’t even heard his friend open the door.

“Hm?”

“How did it go?”

“He did really well.”

“Obviously.” Chris scoffed. “I know he’s good at his job. What about, you know, the plan?”

Victor grinned. “Soon.”

“Well, I spoke to Phichit, and-” Chris began – Victor cut him off.

“Chulanont? Yuuri’s emergency contact?”

“The same.”

Victor nodded. “Right, what about him?”

“Well, if you hadn’t interrupted me, I overheard Phichit talking to Yuuri in the bathroom.”

He blinked slowly, trying to imagine a scenario where he wouldn’t have to get Phichit fired, and Chris as well.

“Bathroom?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. After the presentation, Yuuri apparently went and had a bit of a crisis. He hid in the bathroom and Phichit went to check on him, not knowing I was there as well.”

Victor leaned forwards in his chair – this he had to hear.

“Phichit told Yuuri that he didn’t need to worry, and that working with you would be fine… and that _if you didn’t want to do it, you wouldn’t agree to work with him_.” Chris said empathetically.

He frowned lightly. “I don’t understand?”

Chris sat on the edge of his desk. “Well, it sounded to me like Yuuri was worried that YOU would be upset by working with him.”

A slow smile spread on Victor’s face.

“Really?”

“Mhm. I couldn’t hear what Yuuri was saying, but Phichit was definitely telling him not to worry about how you felt.”

His grin widened. “So…”

“So maybe you should think about how exactly you’re going to play this. Knowing you, you’re probably already planning some grand gesture that will spook him.”

Victor cleared his throat.

“Uhuh, that’s what I thought. So what IS your plan of attack?”

Victor took a deep breath.


	4. Chapter 4

Yuuri briefly considered just quitting his job instead of walking into the meeting room.

Then he scolded himself – he was being stupid. It was just another meeting – with two members of the IT’s innovation department, and him. Well, and one Victor Nikiforov, who had apparently decided to join their meeting, which Yuuri was pretty sure wasn’t normal.

The other man probably didn’t realise that Yuuri was part of the project now – and he couldn’t exactly warn him, now could he? He COULD call in sick or ask to be reassigned, but for what it was worth, he’d already put time and effort into the project…

… and if he stopped kidding himself, he was also desperate to see Victor again.

He _missed_ the other man, missed what they had had before he’d ruined everything and stomped all over Victor’s heart – not that he’d known he’d even had it.

Thinking back to the video of them dancing, he sighed deeply – how very much like him it was to miss something as major as what Victor had felt.

Before he could change his mind again, he reached out and opened the door to the meeting room. He glanced around – being almost late meant that he was, in fact, the last one to arrive… and naturally, there was only one chair left – right next to Victor.

The man wore the same politely casual expression he had during Yuuri’s presentation.

Mumbling an apology for being late – even though he _wasn’t_ – Yuuri shuffled to his seat and settled down, no doubt blushing a bit.

“Well, since we’re all here now.” One of the other group members – a Canadian, by his accent – snarked, “how about we get to working out how much of the budget we can actually have?” He gave Yuuri a scathing look that had him bristling – he didn’t even know the man, what reason did he have to act like he was?

Yuuri forced himself to smile. “I have all the proposals I came up with right here if you’d like to see them.”

The other man – JJ, a nametag on his shirt revealed helpfully – scoffed but accepted the folder. Yuuri passed them out to everyone, awkwardly sliding Victor’s to him across the table.

His former lover still hadn’t reacted to his presence at all. Yuuri was starting to wonder if maybe he had been overthinking if maybe Victor was over it already… and then he happened to catch him looking.

Yuuri had been taking some notes when he felt eyes on him – and glancing up, he noticed it was Victor that was looking at him… and the man winced at getting caught.

His stomach dropped and he resolutely stood, interrupting JJ mid-sentence.

“I need a quick break.” He declared and walked out, towards the bathroom – just to wash his face. Mercifully, his anxiety wasn’t rearing its ugly head… yet.

* * *

Victor sighed in defeat. His plan wasn’t exactly going according to, well, plan.

He’d tried not to stare too much at the gorgeous accountant by his side, but…

But!

He certainly hadn’t expected Yuuri to just dash off as soon as he noticed Victor’s eyes on him… but it was only a small setback.

Yuuri came back looking much calmer, and Victor was determined to play it cool. Well, cool meant showing Yuuri that he was not only happy to work together with him, but that he wanted to build a relationship again… as equals.

He really had his work cut out for him.

He distractedly kept track of the conversation between the three men in the room with him, passing out the right materials at the right time – except that he was so busy not-staring at Yuuri, he accidentally swept his pen straight off the table.

Of course, he snapped his hand out after it, successfully catching it mid-fall… a few inches off the ground. He was half-leaning off his chair and probably looked like an idiot, he realised – and then his eyes travelled to his wrist… where Yuuri’s fingers were wrapped around it.

The accountant had also reached down to catch or pick up the pen… and he’d missed.

Victor’s brain short-circuited as his breath hitched – Yuuri’s fingers were firmly wrapped around him the same way they’d been a hundred times, in bed, on the floor, against the wall… he drew a shuddering breath and looked up, hoping that Yuuri wouldn’t see the pain he felt at how suddenly and viscerally he was reminded what he was missing.

* * *

Victor looked… terrified, Yuuri realised, his stomach dropping out of his body.

He gently released Victor’s hand, a little surprised when neither of them pulled back. They probably looked quite stupid to the other two men in the room… and he didn’t care one bit.

Their voices faded away as he stared into shocked blue eyes, Victor’s face almost close enough to kiss him – he probably could have if he’d reached out and pulled Victor the rest of the way closer.

He resisted the urge and let his eyes fall closed, drawing back and sitting back up. When he opened his eyes again, Victor had already done the same – and neither JJ nor Cao Bin, the other IT employee, seemed any wiser.

Not that that helped – because now he couldn’t think about anything other than Victor – which in all fairness wasn’t a big change to before the pen incident.

He sighed deeply and prayed for the meeting to be over quickly.

* * *

“Are you in primary school?” Chris asked, in between howls of laughter.

“Don’t be mean I’ve had a long day.”

“Victor, it’s lunchtime. You are being ridiculous, swooning like a schoolgirl because he held your hand?”

When Chris put it that way…

“He looked so terrified!” Victor whined.

Chris set his whiskey glass down with a thud. “Listen, have you considered just talking to him? Maybe not in person, but at least send him a note or something.”

Victor scoffed. “Oh, and THAT is mature? Sending him a love letter?”

Chris sighed deeply. “Well, maybe don’t put ‘Do you want to be my boyfriend, yes, no, maybe’ on it… but you could let him know that what happened won’t affect his job.”

“I’ve told him that.”

“But have you? Have you REALLY?”

Chris gave Victor a meaningful look… and Victor could sort of see his point.

“So what if I sent him flowers?”

“Flowers are nice.”

“Roses. Long-stemmed. Red.” Victor mused.

Chris gently patted him on the shoulder. “Roses, yes. Red, no. Get pinks, whites, that sort of thing. Remember, you’re trying NOT to overwhelm him.”

Oh. That.

Victor had forgotten.

Just as well.

* * *

“I-I’ll get rid of these for you.” Phichit said empathetically, as they were both staring at the bouquet of flowers on Yuuri’s desk.

Yuuri nodded, sneezing angrily – the colourful roses in front of him were already blurring as his eyes were swelling up.

Phichit snatched up the bouquet and darted off with it.

Noisily blowing his nose, Yuuri hoped that his reaction wouldn’t be too bad – not that he was overly hopeful there.

A hand landed on his shoulder, startling him enough to nearly drop his tissue.

Chris.

“What’s going on here? You look upset.”

Yuuri sneezed.

“I’m allergic to roses. Someone sent me a bouquet.”

Chris coughed lightly. “O-Oh? That’s not on your HR file. You didn’t put it in the medical info section.”

Yuuri shrugged. “It was embarrassing. Sorry… I can update the info later.”

“Right. Uh, do you need some allergy meds?”

He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Maybe I can go home for the day?”

Chris gently patted him on the back.

“Yes, that’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Did… was there a note? On the flowers?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Don’t know. Phichit threw them away…”

“Huh, how about that. Well… go home for the day.”

* * *

“He’s WHAT?”

“Look, I checked his file, he didn’t put it in there.”

Victor made a whining noise.

“I’m sorry, okay!” Chris moaned, dropping heavily into Victor’s office chair.

“Did he at least see the note?”

“No. It was thrown away. You can always try again? Maybe some chocolates? Or a card? He’s not allergic to paper, is he?”

Victor gave Chris a withering glare. “This isn’t funny. I was trying to… to be nice. Not make him sick.”

“Come on, it’s not so bad. The reaction wasn’t that bad. He’s already back today.”

Victor nodded and slowed down his pacing a little.

“Should I just wait for the next meeting about the implementation project?”

Chris pursed his lips and hummed.

“That’s an option, yes. When is the next meeting?”

“A week from now.”

“Well, that’s perfectly fine, right?”

“…Right.”


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri steeled himself for the next meeting – he knew there would only be one or two more before the accounting department’s role was over. It was an IT project after all – and once financing was done, so was he.

No more Victor.

On the plus side, no more JJ either.

Grinning quietly to himself, Yuuri opened the door and walked in, prepared for another boring meeting filled with terms he didn’t understand.

Except… except on the other side of the door sat only one man – Victor.

Yuuri gulped and sat down, nodding to the other man, his heart racing.

He gulped quietly.

“W-When are JJ and Cao Bin getting here?” He asked, his voice thinner than he would have liked.

Victor hummed quietly and gave a polite smile. “They aren’t. I figured we’d be quicker sorting out the financing without the technical talk.”

Right.

Yuuri gulped as he watched Victor gracefully stand up.

“Would you like to have someone else from the accounting department take my place?” Yuuri blurted out.

Victor’s smile turned a little more forced, and the man stepped around the table, placing a folder down in front of Yuuri, his fingers gently brushing his shoulder.

“Don’t be silly. There’s no reason we can’t work together… is there?”

Victor leaned on the table and smiled in a way that made Yuuri’s stomach flutter like a teenager’s.

Oh.

He forced himself to smile back.

“None at all.”

Of course, it was significantly harder to pay attention to what was happening when he was continuously distracted by, well, Victor. He did an okay job though – and Victor was _perfect_.

The image of professionalism, not a hair out of place, and as well-spoken as Yuuri had ever seen him. It was suddenly incredibly easy to see how Victor was perfect for his job. Yuuri didn’t understand anymore how he’d ever thought differently.

“Hm?” Victor asked, giving him a confused look – Yuuri realised he’d been staring for a bit.

“Sorry… I was just thinking how beautiful you look in… in this job. I couldn’t imagine you in an office before.” Yuuri said before he could think. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth and gulped – Victor flushed slightly.

Mentally kicking himself, Yuuri almost missed when Victor crossed his legs and leaned back with a small cough.

Was Victor mad?

“S-Sorry. That was unprofessional.” He immediately apologised.

Victor frowned briefly before the polite smile came back.

“It’s fine. We have a history. I won’t pretend we don’t.”

At that, Yuuri paused – was that what they had been doing? What HE had been doing? He thought about it for a second before realising that he had indeed been doing that.

Oh.

Yuuri cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I guess… I still don’t know how to move on from this.”

“Oh?” Victor asked, giving him a curious look.

“Yeah. It’s… difficult. It was a lot, and then… New York.”

“Yes. New York.” Victor said in a bitter tone that made Yuuri flinch.

“I never said how sorry I was that I just ran away.”

“It’s fine. I understand why you… did.”

“Y-Yeah?” He asked, hoping it was true.

“Yes. And I… I just wanted to say that I-” Victor began – Yuuri cut him off by practically jumping out of his chair.

“T-That! There’s no need to say it. I know. I mean, I, maybe, figured it out a bit later, but, but I did.”

Victor balked a little but smiled weakly.

“Y-You do?”

He smiled back just as awkwardly.

“I do. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to realise that… that I really need to get over everything that happened. Thanks for helping me figure that out.”

* * *

Victor let himself collapse onto his bed with a grunt. What even was his life? How had they miscommunicated AGAIN?

It was probably pathetic how much it affected him, but he couldn’t exactly help himself.

A loud ring ripped him from his flopped position – his phone.

Cursing quietly, he rolled over and picked up – Chris. Of all people. Of course, it was Chris.

“What do you want?” He groaned into the phone, hoping it wouldn’t take long. He was tired.

Chris snorted. “Wow, you’re in a good mood. Meeting go well then?”

“It went _great_ , what do you want?”

“Okay then… I was going to ask you out for drinks. My treat.”

He huffed.

“Anywhere in particular?”

“I just held a job interview in this swanky hotel downtown and thought you could join me since I’m already here.”

Victor scoffed – why not? He was in the mood for getting drunk, at the very least, he could admit that much.

* * *

Yuuri was sweating bullets – he was fairly sure what he was doing was a godawful idea, but…

But it was already done. He’d called the number, he’d arranged a meeting. Had asked for a tall brunette, preferably with a beard and muscles. Not really his type, but that had been the point. He’d paid upfront, to stop himself from chickening out.

He probably would have.

However, he meant what he’d said to Victor – he needed to work on actually moving past what had happened – all of it. It seemed Victor was doing so already, and if he was a big enough person to forgive Yuuri for breaking his heart, then Yuuri could see someone else and hopefully forget about how Victor felt in his arms.

Yeah right.

He stepped into the hotel lobby with a sigh and looked around for a man that matched the description the agency had given… but before he could, a rather muscular man with a well-kept beard stepped up to him.

“Hi! You my client?”

Yuuri winced slightly. “You’re from Eros Es-” The man nodded before he could say much else – and then gave Yuuri an appraising look.

“You’re a lot cuter than most of my clients! Come on, let’s go check in and I’ll really introduce myself! I’m Emil, by the way. You ever done this before?”

He sighed weakly as he followed the energetic man. What was he doing?

“Once… but not really.”

“Oh, got cold feet? That’s okay! I’m happy to show you the ropes!”

Yuuri forced himself to smile.

This was good – it was the right thing to do, even if it felt god-awful.

It… was the right thing, right?

He mutely handed Emil the key to their room, ignoring the way his stomach turned at the thought of what was to come.

* * *

Victor stared in sheer disbelief at the elevators, his ears ringing from the conversation he’d just overheard. Chris was saying something to him, but he couldn’t hear – he was too shocked as he watched Yuuri and an attractive young man step into the elevator.

A man… that had introduced himself as an escort. Just now.

And had followed Yuuri up to a room.

Yuuri… had gone to another escort. Well, a real escort.

Directly after just straight up declaring he wanted to ‘get over’ Victor.

“I’m so sorry.” Chris said softly.

Victor was still staring at the elevator doors, mutely wondering whether those two were already in the room. Had Yuuri already thrown that guy against a wall, kissing him like he wanted to devour him?

Chris gently took his drink from his fingers and set it on the bar.

“He… with someone else?” He asked feebly.

His friend gently turned him around and broke his line of sight to the elevator.

“I’m sorry Victor. I had no idea he would be here, I swear.”

He nodded feebly – of course Chris hadn’t. He’d watched Yuuri walk in the door, his friend wasn't psychic.

“He said he wanted to get over me earlier today. In the meeting.” He quietly offered – he hadn’t told Chris, not when the line had hit him right where it hurt.

“What? And THIS is how he does that? I have half a mind to go up there and give him a piece of my mind.”

Victor gasped.

“You… are a genius.”

“Of course I – wait, what?”

Victor was sprinting towards reception before Chris could get over his confusion.

* * *

Yuuri was _relieved_ when Emil suggested room service.

It had only become clearer to him the more they talked that he wasn’t interested. Not like that, anyway. The other man was plenty nice, polite, charming even – and good-looking. Yuuri wasn’t blind – he could see how well his tight pants and shirt hugged his muscular body.

Prior to Victor, he’d have been just fine with someone like Emil, but…

He gulped when someone knocked on the door – no doubt the food they’d ordered.

Emil hopped up and answered – and indeed, he came back with a pushcart with food on it. It was presented nicely, even had a little flower in a vase on the cart.

Romantic.

He sighed and lifted the metal cover off his steak.

“Not a fan of steak?” Emil asked, looking at his ravioli.

Yuuri grinned. “No, I am. Sorry if I’m not the best company.”

“It’s fine, but if I had to say, you don’t really seem… that interested. Am I not your type?”

Startled by the blunt question, Yuuri considered his answer.

“It’s not that. You’re handsome enough. It’s just… there is someone. I’m trying to get over him and I thought this would be a good idea.”

Emil hummed. “I see. Well… I’m already here… so do you want to talk about it? I’ll even slash my fee.”

Yuuri grinned and thought about it – Emil was nice enough, and…

“His name is Victor. He’s the most _beautiful_ man I’ve ever seen.” He began.

* * *

“No, you can’t be serious.” Chris whisper-shouted at him as he stalked towards the elevators, putting his chequebook back into his pocket.

“Oh, I am.”

“Victor no, that’s… you can’t!” Chris hissed.

Victor paused long enough to glare.

“You’ll find that I have a chequebook that says I CAN.”

“No, you CAN’T. This is… Victor, I love you, but this is crossing a line.”

“What am I supposed to do? Just… just let them be? Chris, I can’t.”

“It’s HIS decision!”

“And this is MINE!”

Victor almost thought that Chris would let it go when he reached the elevators – except his friend just blocked his path again, his expression even more serious.

“If this fails, you’ll have ruined any chance you have. Forever. Do you realise that?”

He clenched his jaw as well as his fists and gave a terse nod. “I know. I do, but I… if I DON’T do this, it’s over too.”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Chris stepped away with a sigh.


	6. Chapter 6

Yuuri and Emil were sitting on the edge of the bed – Emil had just finished telling Yuuri a story about a man he used to have a crush on and his _obsession_ with his younger sister that had him shaking with laughter.

Dinner had been awkward, but Emil was likeable enough that the awkwardness faded quickly. Yuuri was oddly relieved to tell someone other than Phichit about it – Emil hadn’t batted an eye when he’d mentioned some of their more… intimate experiences.

Phichit had gasped in shock and covered his hamster’s ears the one time Yuuri had accidentally made a comment on that subject.

It wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he called the escort service again, but… well frankly it was still better than moping in his apartment again.

At least, until someone pounded on the door, loud enough, to startle them both up – Emil went to answer it.

Since Yuuri couldn’t see the door from where he was standing by the bed, it took a few seconds until he could catch up to what was happening.

What it was… floored him.

Emil was backing away from the door with an extremely confused expression… and stalking after him was one _visibly pissed_ Victor Nikiforov.

Yuuri gulped.

He expected Victor to address him, but the other man didn’t – he focused on Emil, yanking something out of his pocket – paper.

“This is a cheque over forty grand. Take it and leave. Your services aren’t needed.” Victor said with a voice that was dripping with barely contained rage.

Emil accepted the cheque but looked between Yuuri and Victor.

Yuuri wanted to explain – all he could do was stammer out Victor’s name.

Something like a lightbulb seemed to go off in Emil’s head as he grinned at Yuuri before stepping over.

Yuuri watched as, in almost slow-motion, the handsome escort came closer, and with each step he took, Victor’s expression tightened even more. Emil didn’t hesitate to lean down and press a kiss to Yuuri’s cheek.

He’d have been surprised if it hadn’t been for what the man whispered as he did so.

“Go get your man!”

He whimpered in embarrassment as he watched Emil saunter off after looking back and forth between them one more time.

The door fell shut behind him with an audible click… and then it was just him and Victor. A very angry Victor.

Alone.

Fuck.

Victor didn’t say a word to him – instead, he reached out and grabbed Yuuri by the lapel of his suit jacket and _yanked_ him forwards, into a kiss. He was too startled to really react, but it didn’t matter – Victor kissed him so forcefully he wasn’t sure which way was up anymore anyway.

When the older man released him, he sank back onto the bed, glad his legs didn’t give out completely.

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come out – and after a few seconds of silence, Victor shook his head and closed the gap between them again. Yuuri found himself pushed backwards and pressed to the bed, Victor kissing him like his life depended on it.

He was far too frozen to do anything but lay there and take it – at least for another minute or so. Then, his brain just suddenly jumped back into gear, and his hands snapped to Victor’s hips. He kissed the other man back too – and as soon as he did, Victor collapsed against him with a quiet sob, the fight seemingly draining out of him in a second.

Yuuri had no trouble at all flipping them around and pinning Victor to the bed by the wrists. He glanced at Victor’s left wrist – it was the same thing he’d been thinking about in their stupid meeting a week ago.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, breaking the silence that was otherwise just filled with soft panting from them both.

* * *

Victor’s stomach clenched painfully. “I’d think that was obvious by now.” He snapped, wincing at his own tone.

Yuuri’s grip on his hands didn’t waver for a second.

“Victor. What are you doing here? How did you even find my room? _Why_ are you in this hotel? Why did you throw Emil out?”

He scoffed. “I was having drinks with Chris. I saw you come up with… with him. Do you have a _thing_ for escorts, Yuuri?”

The other man briefly twitched, his lips pressing into a thin line – good. He was annoyed. Victor was angry – it fit.

“You… paid him off to get rid of him.” Yuuri observed.

“Just like I paid the receptionist to tell me your room number.”

“R-Right. And you did this because…?”

Victor tensed his arms – he knew well enough that he probably couldn’t break free, but he couldn’t help the impulse – not when he was about to go out on a limb. The last time he’d done that, in New York…

He shook off the thought.

They weren’t in New York.

“ _Because_ , every other time I tried to talk to you it failed miserably, or you ran away!” Victor snarled – and yes, he was angry at Yuuri for that too. He’d been trying, dammit.

Quite suddenly, Yuuri’s grip eased considerably, and confusion replaced annoyance in the accountant’s face.

“I-I’ve been trying to give you space.” Yuuri said quietly – Victor laughed.

“Space? Yeah, so much space you ran straight back to Detroit and then didn’t come to work for a month.”

Yuuri flinched, hard.

“I’m sorry. I know that was immature.”

His own anger drained a little too, when he saw that Yuuri was… sincere.

“It’s not… I didn’t know how to act either.” He offered – and Yuuri smiled a small smile that made his heart flutter. Then his expression closed off again.

Victor wanted to bang his head against something – how was it possible that every time he made a bit of progress, they immediately hit some kind of wall again?

“I didn’t know. That… that I broke your heart when I walked away in New York.” Yuuri said, his voice quiet, calm.

Victor laughed. “You didn’t know?!”

“Not until I saw the video. I’m not… I’m no good with that stuff.”

Victor closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. “Well… you DID figure it out.”

“I did. And I tried to do the right thing, but suddenly we were working together so closely, and…”

He silenced the man with a venomous look and flexed his fingers – they were going numb. As if he read his thoughts, Yuuri released him and sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

“What exactly is the right thing?” He asked, having a fairly good idea of what the answer would be.

* * *

Yuuri stared awkwardly at his hands – they looked odd suddenly, now that he’d let go of Victor.

“I tried to stay away. To give you… space. To recover. To heal. I didn’t want to be a reminder of how horrible I was to you.” He admitted.

Victor stayed deathly silent for a second, then ran a hand through his hair.

“Was the video your idea of ‘space’?”

He shot around. “That! It wasn’t me. I… Phichit gave it to you. He thought you deserved a copy.”

“And you didn’t think so?” Victor asked.

What a question.

“No, I did. I do. I just… didn’t...” He trailed off.

“Did it ever occur to you that the ‘right thing’ might have been something else? Like maybe an apology?” Victor asked bitterly.

Yuuri just… stared.

For what was _definitely_ a weird amount of time.

“You want an apology.” He said – it wasn’t a question.

“Well, it’d certainly have been a better choice than whatever you’re doing currently.”

He felt like an absolute idiot – he’d never for a second considered that Victor would want… that.

“I… I…” He stuttered, flushing slightly. “I don’t know how to apologise.”

Victor gave him a long look. “Well they usually start with an ‘I’m sorry’…”

Yuuri sighed and took his glasses off, rubbing his face for a few seconds.

“I just… I don’t know how to apologise… for this.”

After several moments of silence, Yuuri put his glasses back on to look at the other man. Victor was giving him a surprisingly soft look. When Victor reached out and took his hand, he couldn’t resist the urge to squeeze his fingers – and Victor did the same.

Oh.

Oh!

Yuuri hesitated for another second before leaning in.

Victor met him half-way.

Their kiss was slow, gentle, and thorough. Yuuri put every single thing that he felt into it, praying that it would get across to Victor better than his admittedly pathetic attempts at talking.

* * *

Yuuri’s fingers were threading into his hair, holding him close – not that he wanted to pull away.

He felt like he was floating, Yuuri’s fingers in his hair and on his arm the only fixed points in space.

Eventually, the kiss ended, and both Victor and Yuuri pulled back far enough that they could look at each other. Yuuri had a dazed little smile – no doubt he looked the same.

“I’m _sorry_.” Yuuri whispered.

Victor let his eyes flutter closed – he couldn’t help the single tear that escaped and trailed down his cheek.

Yuuri gasped quietly and gently wiped it away.

“Victor… _I’m so sorry_.” The other man breathed, and Victor nodded.

He hadn’t realised how much he’d needed to hear that – how much he’d been hurting without Yuuri.

“Why did you run away?” He whispered between them – to his disappointment, Yuuri pulled away rather abruptly, his previous open expression closing off again.

“I... Because... I found out you lied to me.”

“I tried to tell you why.”

“I wasn’t ready to hear it.” Yuuri said with a bitter laugh.

“Are you ready to hear it now?” Victor asked without missing a beat.

“I think I’ve pieced most of it together by now.” The other man said with a weak smile.

“Right. Then. Your answer?” he asked, tensing up a little again – kissing was one thing, but did Yuuri... want him? And if so, beyond the physical?

“That depends on the question.” Yuuri said – Victor knew evading a question when he saw it.

“It’s the same question I asked you in the Maldives and the evening you wanted an exclusive contract.” He knew Yuuri had to understand – and going by his flush, he did.

The other man sighed softly.

“I have nothing to offer you other than maybe sex.” Yuuri said. Before Victor could straighten him out on that, he stood resolutely and started pacing.

“I’m not... You’ve seen my apartment. I was spending a lot of money while I had it, but that’s really not... Me. It’s not my thing. I’m boring. I don’t really go out, I don’t have a social life and I _definitely_ don’t just take random trips to the Maldives.”

Yuuri took a deep breath. “Beyond that, I’m not... You’ve seen how awful I am at relationships. It’s... Just ask my exes. They’ll all tell you the same thing. I’m unavailable, married to work, can’t express my feelings...”

“Bullshit!” Victor snarled, making Yuuri flinch with the sudden profanity.

Good.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri stood frozen under Victor’s icy look.

“You’re definitely not bad at relationships. I know, because we were in one. Lies aside, I KNOW that what was between us was real, and it was fantastic. So, I can believe you’re bad at _talking_ about relationships, but that’s it.”

He opened his mouth to deny it, but Victor wasn’t giving him a chance to do so.

“I’m married to my work too – at least I was until I met you. You were the first thing away from work that I wanted for myself in... In a long time.” Victor’s voice was soft.

Yuuri could sense there was a story there, but decided not to push for it.

“Next – you can’t express your feelings? Admittedly, maybe you’re not great at the talking thing, but a minute ago, you expressed your feelings _just fine_.” Victor said, pressing a finger to his slightly swollen bottom lip.

He felt himself flushing a little. “T-That...”

Victor held up his hand to silence him.

“Not done. I was about to say that regardless of all of that, it’s _my choice_ who I’m interested in, and I think I’ve been making it very clear that that’s you.”

“Is it still?” He blurted out – and really, that was the crux of it, wasn’t it? Sure, he knew how _he_ felt about Victor, but did the other man feel the same?

“Is it... I’m sorry, were you not here when we kissed earlier?” Victor asked in exasperation.

“No, I was, I just-” Yuuri stuttered.

“You just what? Dammit Yuuri, I’ve been trying to tell you how I feel since, like, our third date. I sent you flowers, I tried to tell you, I even started an entire project just so I could show you we could work. _Which part of all of this makes you question if I still want to be with you_?” Victor asked, shocking Yuuri to the core.

“I’m sorry... You did WHAT?”

* * *

Victor groaned and hid his face in his hands.

He hadn’t meant to say that – or at least not yet, and not so suddenly.

Yuuri was staring at him like he was a lunatic... And then, quite suddenly, started howling with laughter.

He watched with equal parts amusement and embarrassment how Yuuri laughed for a good minute before calming down.

He’d certainly not meant to reveal his rather embarrassing actions, but… well, at least now Yuuri knew. Really knew.

Yuuri took a deep breath. “I… I watched the video. For like, a weird amount of time. Over and over. It’s on my phone.”

Victor giggled softly. “Same for me. I… I made an album. Of photos of you. Some I took, some screens from the video.”

To his surprise, Yuuri looked at him with complete shock.

“You can… you can do that? Really?”

“I… yes?”

“So… So, I can have a photo of how you looked at me on the stage?”

Victor blushed scarlet.

* * *

They were stretched out next to each other, not touching, on the hotel bed.

Both of them were staring at the ceiling. No doubt, Victor was following his own train of thought – Yuuri’s were mostly scrambled. He was still putting things together, mentally.

Just about everything he’d believed about Victor had been wrong… and they both still wanted each other.

“Are you angry at me?” He finally asked.

Victor made a faint noise of discontent.

“Angry about what?”

“Erm… me assuming you were an escort?”

Victor snickered and rolled over, his fingers lightly landing on Yuuri’s shoulder.

“No. I was flattered. Confused, but not angry.”

“And when you found out I work for you?”

“You don’t. You work _with_ me. I was pretty shocked, but mostly that you had that sort of money to throw around.”

Yuuri’s brain froze. Money. That…

He sighed softly. “You… have a lot more of it than me, huh?”

“Oh, definitely.” Victor chirped happily.

“You… you once told me that Chris helped you with… me?”

* * *

Victor cleared his throat lightly.

He had indeed – but he didn’t exactly want to talk about it.

“He did. The audit was my idea.”

“And he just agreed to pay me THAT much money? Are you both rich?”

He considered confirming it – there was no way shy Yuuri would ask Chris, but…

He sighed.

“No… I paid him.”

“You paid him. To pay me. To pay you?”

Yuuri sat up and looked down at him with a huge frown.

“I… well, yes?”

“Victor! That’s… that’s basically money laundering!”

“Uh… is it?”

“Yes! Wh-didn’t you check that first?”

“Well, I had other things on my mind. Besides, it should be fine. I ended up with far less than I circled around.”

Yuuri groaned. “Yes… that’s how money-laundering usually works. You pay someone a fee, and… why are you laughing?”

Victor couldn’t help himself – he was giggling. It wasn’t really a _funny_ topic per se, but his nervous energy just decided to vent itself that way.

“It’ll be fine, Yuuri. I have it on good authority that I know a _great_ accountant that can probably help me.”

He winked at his lover – except Yuuri only frowned.

“Yes, well, I can try but I can’t promise anything. Is that…” Yuuri trailed off, his expression tightening up even more.

“Yuuri? Did I say something wrong?” He sat up as well, wondering what he’d said, exactly.

“Is… is that what you want from me?”

* * *

Yuuri fought the bitter taste in his mouth – it made a disturbing amount of sense, actually. Victor had messed up, and he needed help to fix it. He knew he was a good accountant – it… made sense.

Too much sense.

The only thing that didn’t was the complete bafflement that he could see plain as day in Victor’s eyes.

The other man had _no idea_ what he was talking about.

Silence reigned between them for a few moments… and then Yuuri realised what he’d just said, and how ridiculous it was. He felt a dark blush rise up on his cheeks, his fingers twitching with the urge to just… run away.

He fought it.

“I-It makes sense. More than you just being attracted to me.”

Yuuri was so distracted by the adorable way Victor scrunched up his nose, he didn’t see it coming – not when Victor pounced, rolling them on the bed, and straight off the edge. Yuuri landed hard on the ground, cushioned only by the blanket that had slid off – with Victor on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

He winced a little, immediately focusing on Victor’s expression as the man leaned in until the tips of their noses touched. It may have seemed like an affectionate gesture, but Victor’s face was too serious.

“V-Victor?” He stuttered when the older man said nothing – he was having a hard time focusing on his face – Victor was too close.

Eventually, Victor sighed and pulled back a little bit.

“I’m getting pretty sick of this.” Victor said – Yuuri froze down to his very soul.

“Sick… of…?” He asked, wincing slightly. His mind was all too happy to replay him previous instances of people being sick of him - of how serious he was, how focused on work. There were many fights - and several of them ended with his exes screaming that they were sick of him. Once, one of them had actually texted it instead of saying it out loud.

Victor shook his head. “Don’t even start. I can _see_ you going off in your head there. Don’t do it. What I am sick of is you claiming there’s nothing you have to offer.”

“I… I don’t. Next to you.”

“Oh? So, you’re not incredibly attractive, sweet, helpful, a complete gentleman, and _fantastic_ in bed?” Victor asked – Yuuri was desperate to squirm away, and hide his embarrassment, but Victor had him pinned pretty well.

“What about you? You’re incredibly beautiful, successful, wealthy, kind, and if one of us is amazing in bed, i-it’s you.” He stuttered – embarrassed that he even had to say the words.

Victor’s brilliant smile made it okay.

Mostly anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

Victor squirmed slightly. He knew they were having a serious conversation, and he needed Yuuri to understand that he WAS a prize for anyone, not just Victor – but unfortunately, not all of him was all that focused.

No, he was starting to get decidedly distracted – and he was incredibly embarrassed about it. Even with emotions running high in both of them, he couldn’t help his reaction to being pressed against Yuuri, half-wrapped in a bedsheet.

He took a shuddering breath.

“Victor?” Yuuri asked – apparently, he’d been quiet too long.

“I’m fine. I was just… thinking. Sorry.”

Yuuri smiled and gently wriggled his arm – Victor released his wrist and leaned on the floor instead. The younger man used his free hand to gently cup Victor’s cheek, his thumb rubbing along his cheekbone.

He eagerly leaned into it, humming quietly.

“What were you thinking about? Is it about the money? Because I can probably find an exception clause in the SEC rulings, especially if there is some kind of precede-MMPH!” Yuuri squawked awkwardly when Victor leaned down and kissed him mid-word, uncaring that he was being a bit rude.

He couldn’t _take_ it anymore – hearing Yuuri just casually babble about his job when they were _so damn close_ , as if he wasn’t affected by Victor at all.

Just like in the meetings, when Victor had struggled to keep his cool and look like he was focused, and Yuuri had been his usual calm, professional self.

He leaned in even more when Yuuri kissed him back. Something happened – he wasn’t sure what, but it ended up with him lying underneath Yuuri, both of his arms wrapped around Yuuri's neck, while his lover was slowly pressing himself down and grinding against Victor.

Unable to fight it, Victor moaned wantonly and shifted his hands, to start pulling on Yuuri’s shirt. He vaguely heard a few buttons pop, but he didn’t care – he’d missed the other man, more than he would have thought possible, and he _needed_ him – and he neede how he was finally so damn close.

* * *

Yuuri wasn’t quite sure what had happened, but from one second to another, Victor had all but transformed into a horny mess, and Yuuri would be lying if he said he wasn’t loving it. He had no idea what had brought it on, but it was a welcome change from their conversation – he wasn’t good with words.

Shifting his weight, he reached down with one hand to possessively grab Victor’s thigh, making the other man whimper. He was better at actions than words – and he was more than determined to impress.

He ran his hand higher, teasing at Victor’s belt until he worked up the courage to fumble it open, one-handed.

When he had to break their kiss to breathe, he took the opportunity to get a word in despite his earlier reservations about talking. “Want to get on the bed?” He asked, breathing heavily.

Victor paused for a moment, before gently biting his own bottom lip.

The older man slowly shook his head and gave Yuuri a challenging look.

Oh.

Damn.

Yuuri practically ripped both their clothes off in his eagerness.

* * *

Victor moaned, his face pressed into the edge of the bed. It hadn’t started out that way, but somehow, Yuuri had moved him until he was leaning on the edge of the bed with his head and shoulders, his legs spread on the floor.

Yuuri had pulled his arms behind his back, forcing him to arch it and giving him no control at all as the younger man fucked into him without mercy – and he knew damn well that Yuuri was being cruel on purpose.

He was loving every second, even if it frustrated him beyond all words that Yuuri kept changing his rhythm, switching between slow, gentle thrusts that he could feel in his whole body to fast, shallow ones that would have had him begging for more if he had still been able to talk.

As always, Yuuri’s stamina was a marvel in and of itself – it seemed the other man was even more determined than usual though, to have Victor insane with pleasure and desire.

He was making good headway too – especially when he shifted, changing his angle slightly, before reaching down and stroking Victor’s dick as well.

He moaned in desperation – he wanted Yuuri to stop, wanted it to last longer, wanted to come from Yuuri’s dick alone, but he wasn’t given that choice – in mere moments, his body was shuddering with one of the most violent orgasms he’d ever felt.

And Yuuri… didn’t stop. Not for one second.

Victor bit the bedsheets, trying to keep himself from screaming the way he wanted to – he was oversensitive, and his body had gone from begging for more to begging for a break, but if he was honest, he didn’t want that break – he wanted Yuuri to carve himself into him until he left his mark on every cell of Victor’s body.

Stifling another cry, he tried to arch his back further – it pulled on his shoulders as well as his back, but he wanted to feel everything, no matter what it was.

Yuuri suddenly released his arms, pins, and needles shooting down them as he scrambled to lean up from the bed – he’d have been disappointed, but the other man didn’t stop fucking him, and that was all he cared about.

At least, until the accountant’s chest pressed against his sweaty back and Yuuri licked along the shell of his ear.

 _Fuck_.

* * *

Yuuri wasn’t sure if he was overdoing it – Victor had already come, but the other man was still eagerly leaning into everything Yuuri was giving him. Adjusting their position a little further, he made sure that he hit his lover’s prostate with every thrust, enjoying the way he clenched every time Yuuri did.

He was fairly sure his knees were rug-burnt already, but he couldn’t have cared less – not when another particularly hard thrust led to Victor actively pushing back into him, whimpering as he braced himself against the bed.

It gave Yuuri an idea – he grinned quietly as he pulled out with a sudden motion that drew a disappointed cry from Victor’s mouth.

“Y-Yuuri? Why? Please, I-” The other man groaned, his body shuddering at the sudden lack of sensation.

“Get on your back.” He ordered, pleased when Victor collapsed more than he moved. He spread the other man’s legs and hoisted his hips up so that he once again had full control over what was happening – and he eagerly thrust back into his pliant lover.

With nothing to silence him now, Victor cried out – a moment later, he hid his face in his armpit.

Yuuri grinned down at him.

“Let me see your face.” He ordered. It took a few seconds until Victor responded – apparently, he was out of it a fair bit.

Yuuri could see why – his dick was almost hard again, and he could just see the arousal and desperation in Victor’s face.

“Touch yourself.” He insisted, changing his hold on Victor so the man’s entire body was laid bare before him. He had to thrust his hips up a little, but it was well worth the sight of Victor – the other man wrapped one hand around his half-hard dick, the other travelling lower.

It took Yuuri a second to figure out why – then Victor’s fingers brushed against his erection the next time he pulled out, and he realised that the other man wanted to feel the point where they were connected.

His hips stuttered for a moment and it took some serious self-control not to come on the spot – Victor’s amused glance indicated he was still together enough to realise what had just happened.

That…. wouldn’t do.

* * *

Victor didn’t resist in the least when Yuuri shifted their position again – he found himself manhandled up until he was practically sitting in Yuuri’s lap, his legs wrapped around Yuuri’s waist, the other man’s cock pressing into his prostate just right.

His arms automatically wrapped around Yuuri’s shoulders, fingers tracing the muscles there, appreciating the slight tremble – Victor knew he wasn’t light, yet Yuuri had no problem moving him as if he weighed nothing.

Case in point, Yuuri wrapped both hands underneath Victor’s thighs and lifted him, all but letting him drop back down onto his dick.

Victor’s scream was swallowed up by Yuuri – the other man kissed him deeply just as he adjusted his grip and did it again.

He did his best to help, but he could only focus on one thing at a time, and Yuuri’s kisses were far more enticing.

When the other man eventually broke the kiss, his breath unsteady and face scrunched up in a frown, Victor gasped. It was obvious the other man was close – and Victor wanted him to come more than he’d wanted his own orgasm.

He shifted around, wrapping his hand around his own dick – he wanted to come _with_ Yuuri.

“Y-Yuuri!” he moaned, just to get his attention – soulful brown eyes fluttered open and met his own. “Please. Wanna come together?” he managed, vaguely surprised he was actually speaking in full words – and then Yuuri growled and nodded, his motions speeding up a little.

He was lifting Victor higher, adding a little grind with his hips when he dropped him down again – and Victor was doing his best to squeeze him the way he knew Yuuri liked. He was vaguely aware that he was babbling something incoherent, but it didn’t matter, because a moment later, Yuuri came, his head thrown back with a hoarse cry.

Victor could _feel_ Yuuri’s dick spasming within him, and it was probably that that pushed him over the edge. He came with an unrestrained moan, his arm clutching around Yuuri’s shoulders as best as he could manage. It wasn’t so much about the pleasure for him as it was about feeling connected with Yuuri – and as they stared into each other’s eyes, panting from the physical exertion, he felt complete for the first time in a long while.

Then the world shifted – Yuuri moved him again, lifting him until he was safely cradled in Yuuri’s arms and the other man stumbled around the bed, setting him down and collapsing right next to him.

By the time Victor found the strength to turn his head to look, Yuuri was already asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

He woke up in the most comfortable place he could remember being, possibly ever. He was warm, wrapped in something soft, and gentle fingers were combing through his hair. His mind pieced it together slowly – he was Victor. The arm wrapped around him, the legs pressed to his, they all belonged to Victor.

Victor, who had…

Victor, who had thrown out his escort, practically jumped him, and actually forced them to talk. He wrinkled his nose – it sounded quite off, if he thought about it objectively, yet somehow it had worked – or at leas it had led to the most fantastic sex he’d ever had, and that was worth it in its own right.

He wasn’t sure where they would go from there – yes, Victor had said that he wanted to be with Yuuri, but Yuuri’s own reservations on the matter still weren’t gone – nor was the doubt that lurked in the back of his head.

Quite suddenly, the fingers that had been petting him retreated, and then a loose fist gently knocked him on the head. He squawked and looked up – Victor was giving him an annoyed look.

“ _No._ I told you yesterday, I can tell when you go off on some ridiculous tangent in your head. Please don’t.”

Yuuri giggled, despite himself, and squirmed higher in Victor’s arms to be able to kiss him. The other man hummed into it, chasing Yuuri’s lips even when he retreated.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. How can you tell anyway?”

Victor shrugged. “You get really tense. Tense and somehow distant. I don’t know, but I can tell.”

Yuuri nodded and pressed a kiss to Victor’s chest.

“A-About before…” Yuuri began, clearing his throat.

“Which part?”

“The, uh, sex?” He asked, blushing scarlet. To his surprise, Victor was blushing too – and avoiding his eyes.

“We… should have probably talked more first, right?” Victor asked, his voice quiet.

“Definitely, but… I’m no good with that. I feel like what we did made… things pretty clear anyway?” It was mostly a question. He wanted Victor to confirm that he felt the same – that they had communicated what they needed to physically, if not verbally.

Victor smiled brilliantly, his fingers trailing along Yuuri’s neck.

“Yes!”

Yuuri sighed in relief, letting himself lean further forwards and nuzzled against Victor. The other man understood him – they communicated by touch what Yuuri had never been good at saying out loud.

That worked for him in a way he hadn’t really expected – but he was definitely down for it.

* * *

There was an odd feeling nagging in the back of Victor’s mind. It had been there ever since his encounter with Yuuri in the hotel room.

At first, he’d been too drunk on his own happiness to notice, but then it had gotten louder and louder. It had started out fine. They’d split up and gone home – Yuuri had texted him before he’d even sat down in his car.

He’d also had about a hundred texts from Chris, but he’d just deleted those.

He’d floated all the way home thinking about how considerate Yuuri was… but when he WAS home, cuddled up with Makka, he realised that neither of them had actually said the words that needed saying between them.

Still, he’d reasoned that they had time. They worked together after all. He found a few reasons to wander through the accounting department the next few days, winking at Yuuri whenever he got the chance.

The other man always smiled back in a way that made him feel so very _warm_ inside that he called himself an idiot – words or not, it was obvious Yuuri cared. Out of respect for the other man, he didn’t openly approach him though – they hadn’t discussed that.

Yuuri texted him all four times he walked by, complimenting him, telling him how glad he was they worked things out… and Victor realised grudgingly, that he was the only one upset by the lack of further words on the matter of their feelings for each other.

Then there was the other issue – he hadn’t managed to make time to actually _see_ Yuuri again. As if by some cosmic conspiracy, he’d been flooded with work for almost a week – he’d come close to sleeping in the office, so there was absolutely no chance he’d be able to go out with Yuuri.

Sighing, he rubbed his forehead and looked at the clock.

9pm – he’d turned down Yuuri’s most recent invitation almost five hours ago, and he still wasn’t done with his workload.

A knock on his door nearly startled him out of his chair. He’d assumed he was the only one left in the office that late.

“Come in!”

The door opened, revealing a softly smiling Yuuri… holding take-out bags in his hand. Chinese, and, it seemed, Italian.

Victor’s heart clenched when a wave of affection washed over him. Yuuri had brought him food – he hadn’t even thought about eating.

“Am I interrupting?”

He grinned. “Not at all. Please, come on in.”

Yuuri did so, setting down his bags in one of the empty chairs in Victor’s space.

“I thought you might be hungry. I brought you some chow mein, some mushroom pasta dish I can’t really pronounce, and just in case you’re not in the mood for either of those, I also have some sandwiches from the supermarket.” Yuuri listed.

Victor pressed his hand over his heart, eager to get it to calm down. It wasn’t a big deal, but the fact that Yuuri had gone out of his way to bring him food… he just wanted to blurt out that he loved it, and that he loved him.

“Are you… going to eat with me?” he asked tentatively.

“Oh, I’ve already eaten.” Yuuri replied quickly.

Ouch.

After a moment, Yuuri shot around and shook his head though.

“Oh, sorry, that came out wrong. I’ve already eaten, but if you want some company…”

“You’re not too tired?”

“For you? Never.”

* * *

After two weeks, Yuuri still couldn’t believe his luck. He and Victor were making it work – it had been difficult at first, but once Victor had gotten the bulk of his stuff done, they’d found the time to go on dates.

And they had been good dates too – Victor had taken the lead, and had shown him his favourite bar, his favourite restaurant, stuff like that.

They’d kept up their habit of going to a hotel after – neither of their places were particularly close together, or close to anywhere they went. In fact, he’d never even seen Victor’s place – and if the other man never went back to his shabby flat, that would still be too soon.

He wrinkled his nose, unable to believe the other man had still been interested after seeing his tiny place and the old furniture in it.

Clutching his papers more tightly, he waited for the ‘ding’ that would announce that his elevator was on the right floor.

He was about to break one of the unspoken rules between them – and he was really hoping Victor was okay with it.

There weren’t any rules against dating someone else in the company anyway, so it wasn’t like they’d be in trouble if anyone knew, but given his plans, he DEFINITELY did not want to be found out.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door – a familiar voice called for him to enter.

He did so, with a smile, and closed the door behind himself, immediately turning the lock.

“Oh Yuuri, hi! What brings you here?” Victor greeted him with one of those heart-shaped smiles that practically disabled his ability to think in complete sentences.

“I have the proposal. The one we agreed on.” He held up the papers he’d been all but hiding behind and waved them towards Victor.

“Oh that’s great, let me look at them.”

No doubt, Victor expected him to hand them over across his desk, but Yuuri had other plans. He stepped around said desk and set them down directly in front of Victor.

The other man didn’t seem bothered – he went to study the latest proposal, almost as if Yuuri wasn’t there. He waited for Victor to reach the last page before reaching out and trailing his fingers over Victor’s arm.

“When you sign that, I have to go back down.” He said, hoping Victor would understand.

The other man pouted. “Well, that’s a shame. We could… meet up after work?”

“We could. Or you could find something wrong with that.” He said, his fingers trailing higher on Victor’s shoulder.

“But Yuuri, you _know_ your work is perfect.” Victor insisted – Yuuri blushed.

Well, of course it was.

“Yes, but if you do find an issue and we have to discuss it, I could stay here for a bit.” He replied, moving behind Victor and gently massaging his shoulders. Victor was tense – he relaxed a little once Yuuri dug his fingers into the muscles there.

“Oh… oh! That… yes. I like that.” He moaned as Yuuri’s fingers worked into the tension that he had around his neck. Yuuri could feel him shuddering, and his own body responded eagerly – he reminded himself to be patient.

He had a plan, and he wasn’t about to let his own eagerness ruin that.

* * *

Victor was fairly sure he was having some kind of dirty daydream. Why else would shy Yuuri stand behind him, his fingers massaging away his tension, after making that sort of suggestion?

He was fairly sure Yuuri hadn’t come JUST to give him a massage – not that he would have objected to that either, had that been the case.

Groaning, he leaned into the accountant’s touch even more, helpless to stop the shudder that ran through his entire body when he did.

As if on cue, Yuuri stopped his ministrations, instead wrapping his arms around Victor’s shoulders and leaning down to kiss his neck and earlobe.

He fought a whimper – Yuuri knew just how much he enjoyed that.

“How… heated do you want this particular disagreement on your proposal to get?” He forced out when Yuuri gently bit his throat. He was about three seconds away from tearing off their clothes and if Yuuri WASN’T after that, he needed to know.

“Oh, I’ve already printed another copy and dropped it off in IT. If this one gets ruined, it doesn’t matter.” Yuuri said in a clearly amused tone.

Victor didn’t care – he balled up the papers and threw them across the room before hopping up on his desk and yanking Yuuri closer. His new seating-height meant that Yuuri was just a few inches taller than him, and he used that fact to drag them closer together, wrapping his legs around the other man’s hips.

Yuuri didn’t waste any time either – he roughly knocked some of the stuff that had been sitting on his desk off – no matter, Victor didn’t mind picking up some pens, and his laptop was packed up anyway.

Then, a hand pressed against his chest, forcing him to break the heated kiss they’d been sharing – Yuuri was pressing him down onto his desk, his other hand already fumbling with Victor’s trousers.

His own shaky fingers moved to help, before yanking off his suit jacket and shirt as well. It was a little unfair that Yuuri hadn’t taken his own clothes off – but for what it was worth, there was something incredibly hot about a completely-dressed Yuuri fucking him in his office.

That, at least, was where he hoped Yuuri’s little visit would lead.

“Give me your hands.” Yuuri all but ordered – when he obeyed, Yuuri yanked off his tie and wrapped it around Victor’s wrists, securely binding them together. Then – Victor wasn’t sure how it happened – he found himself rolled over, Yuuri’s hand pressing his bound wrists to the desk, where he was now bent down, his hips in the air.

He moaned, not even bothering to be quiet – it was almost word for word what he’d fantasized about more than once while bored in his office.

When Yuuri’s hand massaged down his lower back and his fingers trailed to his ass, Victor realised he’d probably have to request a new office, because there was no way he was ever going to get any work done ever again.

* * *

Yuuri tried to stay quiet – Victor sure didn’t. Conscious that they were in an office, he’d tried to keep his sounds to himself… but the longer he took Victor apart, the less the other man seemed to care that it was HIS office, and people would realise he was the one fucking in it if someone overheard.

A not-so-small part of Yuuri wasn’t just not bothered, but outright thrilled at this. Victor was his now – finally, for real, and he was marking his territory.

His hips snapped forwards harder than before, and Victor eagerly thrust back, desperate for the additional stimulation.

Yuuri knew he couldn’t keep going much longer – not with how everything around them was pushing him towards the edge. Victor, his office, the thrill of potentially getting caught, _Victor_ , the tie around the man’s wrists, their position… he groaned, trying to keep things going for a while longer, but even as both his hands snapped to Victor’s hips, he realised there was no way that was happening.

So instead he changed his angle a little, thrusting up with every motion, hitting Victor’s sweet spot with every thrust – he held out precisely until Victor came with a howl, his own orgasm a fraction of a second behind. He thrust lazily a few more times before collapsing forwards onto Victor, pressing a kiss between his sweaty shoulder blades. His own clothes were probably rumpled too, but he was way too busy feeling smug to care.

Why had he ever even tried to keep his distance from Victor in the first place?


	10. Chapter 10

Yuuri, Victor was fairly sure, was getting sneakier, and bolder.

There was no other reason he would find himself in the same kitchen, the same elevator, the same meeting room as often as he did. He had no clue how Yuuri was managing it, but the other man ran into him constantly… and there was always a gentle nudge of the hip, a quick stolen kiss or even just a whispered compliment when they met.

He was loving it – except for the nagging feeling, because even Yuuri fucking his brains out on his desk hadn’t made it go away.

Yuuri _never_ said how he felt about Victor.

He touched him, looked at him, kissed him like he felt something for Victor, but he never said the words – and Victor was too proud to just outright… ask. It felt too desperate. Besides, he had several overly sappy romantic fantasies that all involved Yuuri coming to him and saying the words – except he didn’t.

“Oy! Earth to Victor!” Chris sing-songed, waving a hand in his face.

“Sorry. I got distracted. What did you say?”

“I was _asking_ how it’s going with you and loverboy.”

“Don’t call him that.” He said mildly. “It’s going fine. It… he’s incredibly attentive.”

“How sweet.” Chris sounded like he actually meant it – and something twisted in Victor’s gut.

“It… he… the only thing is, he never tells me how he feels.”

Chris gaped. “He what? You mean after you stormed into his room, threw out his hooker – thanks for that by the way, he and I had a great time – and spent the night with him, you STILL DIDN’T TALK?”

Victor shrugged. “We talked. Cleared up all the misunderstandings and all that, but then I…”

His friend sighed loudly. “But then you got distracted because he did something perfectly normal and you got turned on?”

He shot the other man a venomous look.

“I know you, and you can be pretty dumb when a cute boy is involved. Anyway, after that, what? You agreed to date properly, right?”

Victor nodded. “He brought me takeout once. When I had to work late. And coffee. And things like that. He’s incredible.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Except you don’t know how he feels.”

“Exactly.”

“And you’re either too proud or thirsty to ask.”

He opened his mouth to deny it, but going by Chris's face, there was no point, so he nodded feebly instead.

Chris gently patted him on the shoulder.

“Well, that’s rough. Anyway, I have to go now. Paperwork to fill out and all that!”

With that, Chris practically jumped up and strolled towards the door of Victor’s office. He squinted at his friend.

“Chris? You’re not going to say anything are you? I REALLY don’t want you meddling in this.”

Chris winked at him. “Would I do something like that?”

“CHRIS!!”

* * *

“So THAT is why you’ve been beaming so much lately.” Phichit cooed in the most fake-condescending tone Yuuri had ever heard.

He’d finally decided to catch his friend up on recent developments – or rather, Phichit had badgered him into an update.

“He’s… perfect. I don’t even know how I got so lucky.” Yuuri said, flushing slightly.

“How sweet. Is that why you’re barely at your desk these days?”

“Well… I am officially working with his department, so I cleared it with our manager.”

Phichit grinned. “Hey, I’m not judging. If I had a hottie this close, I’d be all over that too.”

“I… I know I probably annoy him with how much I see him, but I can’t really help it.” He admitted, blushing cherry-red.

“You know, a lesser friend could be hurt you never bring ME coffee yet frequently go to the good place down the street and then bring some several floors up.”

“So this is all just a ploy for me to buy you coffee?” He asked, pretending to faint at his friend’s audacity.

“Obviously! Soooo have you been to his place yet?”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t really know how to suggest it, and we always meet up in convenient hotels and such, you know?”

Phichit nodded.

“I get it. But it’s Friday – why not suggest going to his place and spending the weekend?”

That… was a surprisingly good idea.

He jumped up and grabbed his wallet – he might as well bring some coffee along.

“Latte with cinnamon and extra whipped cream!” Phichit yelled after him as he hurried towards the elevator.

* * *

Victor fidgeted a little – they were both sitting in his car, the driver just pulling up to Victor’s home. He’d been delighted when Yuuri had asked to come over… but now that they were almost there, he was incredibly nervous.

If nothing else, Yuuri would see his home – and it wasn’t exactly… modest. He’d bought it because the realtor had said it was good for dogs – and it was. Beyond that… he honestly didn’t even know what he’d paid, he just remembered her shocked face when he’d said he wasn’t waiting on a mortgage, and that he was just… buying it.

Fighting a weak smile, he hoped it wouldn’t scare Yuuri off – the man had already looked around the upscale neighbourhood a little nervously. Self-conscious as he was, Victor reached over and put his hand on Yuuri’s, earning him a soft smile.

“Are you ready to meet Makka?” he asked cheerfully.

“I’m really looking forward to it, actually. Is… is this your place?”

Victor nodded slowly, watching as Yuuri took in his home – it was a fairly small mansion split into two separate wings and one main entrance hall, complete with a winding open staircase.

They got out and walked up to the main entrance – he mockingly bowed to Yuuri as he held open the door for him.

The other man grinned as he stepped in – and immediately froze.

Victor glanced between him and his house – he hadn’t done anything about the décor of the place, had kept it like the previous owners had set it all up… which was tasteful modern, with a touch of classic.

Not his words, the realtor had described it that way.

“Too much?” He asked quietly, startling Yuuri out of his shock.

The other man shrugged self-consciously. “N-No, of course not. It’s beautiful. I just didn’t think this was your style.”

He grinned. “It came like this. Come on this way, Makka has her own little section of the house for when I’m at work!”

There was a noticeable bounce in Yuuri’s step as he led the man there – he sighed in relief. Clearly, his house hadn’t scared Yuuri off – and with Makka, things could only get better.

* * *

Yuuri awkwardly filled himself a glass of water in the hyper-modern kitchen. He felt like he was going to break something – it was all shiny, polished surfaces, contrasting colours, and clearly planned out – he felt like he was disturbing something just by _touching_ things.

Still, he hurried up – Victor was waiting.

He filled a second glass and ambled back up the stairs to the living room that Victor and Makka had settled in. It had a huge and surprisingly comfortable couch that they’d settled on – until he’d asked for a drink.

He came back to Victor snuggled into a corner, remote in hand, Makka asleep on his legs.

The domestic beauty of it nearly punched the air out of him. He sat down next to Victor and handed him his glass.

“What are we watching?” He teased when Victor skimmed through a list of channels.

“No idea. Any preference?”

He glanced along Victor’s prone form – the man had changed into a casual shirt and looser slacks – he looked edible.

Gulping he set down his glass and shifted closer.

“Does it matter what movie we _don’t_ watch?” He asked quietly.

Victor looked confused for a moment before setting his glass down too, pulling his legs free and practically pouncing on Yuuri. They ended up pressed together after Victor gave him a comically sloppy kiss – just stretched out along the L-shaped part of the sofa.

Yuuri ran a hand through Victor’s hair, as always, amazed how soft it was – and how much he loved being with Victor.

“Yuuri?” Victor asked.

“Hm?”

“I… there is something I wanted to ask you?”

He smiled. “Anything.”

To his surprise, Victor grimaced weakly and shook his head. “Actually, nevermind. I’ll ask some other time.”

“Are you sure? That’s a bit cryptic.”

Victor winked playfully. “It’s fine. Not a big deal at all. Just… a stray thought. Since we’re not watching anything, do you want me to show you the bedroom?”

Yuuri giggled. “What, like there’s only one?”

Victor pressed them together more, his hand rubbing up Yuuri’s arm.

“Yuuuuri! There are seven, but I figured we could start in one and then check out the rest?”

Laughing – partly to hide his nerves and partly because the idea was so _Victor_ he agreed – and in moments, they were stumbling towards the _first_ bedroom, Victor’s question all but wiped from his mind.

* * *

He panted lightly, sinking back into the soft green sheets of the bed. It had been nicely made not an hour ago – now he was pretty sure there was a pillow wedging the door open, actually.

Yuuri was panting right along with him, flipping over to press a kiss to Victor’s cheek.

Unable to speak quite yet, he grunted, hoping Yuuri understood.

He thought so – at least the other man didn’t seem too bothered by his lack of response. Yuuri was content to just lay there by his side. If it was up to Victor, they’d stay there for some time – he was _exhausted_.

“You know, when you said we’d explore the other bedrooms, I didn’t think you meant on the first night.” Yuuri eventually said, as if he’d read Victor’s thoughts.

He chuckled weakly. “Neither did I… but hey. Did you have a favourite?”

Yuuri hummed quietly. “The second one, I think.”

Victor wrinkled his nose – it was a smaller guest bedroom, with a view of the road, nothing fancy at all.

“Why that one? It’s the smallest one.”

To his surprise, Yuuri snickered and then leaned up, over him. “It’s not the room, it’s what we did in it. I mean… I made you _scream_.”

Victor hid his emerging blush by pulling Yuuri into another kiss – put that way…

They kissed leisurely, warm heat spreading through him as they did. He couldn’t go again, and neither could Yuuri just yet, but…

“How about we give the fourth one another try?” He mumbled into the space between them.

Yuuri chuckled and ran a hand down Victor’s chest. “We could… or we could try that the other way around. If you’re interested.”

He wheezed quietly. “Y-You’d let me…?”

“If you want.” Yuuri said, his voice a little quiet.

Victor pounced.


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri was humming quietly as he poured the coffee into the two cups he’d set out. He still wasn’t on board with the extremely shiny kitchen, but he wasn’t as bothered anymore – a day and a half with Victor had certainly distracted him.

He smiled to himself, carrying both cups back towards the bedroom, where Victor was no doubt still rolling around in bed – the other man had made a rather great show of just _how much_ Yuuri had apparently worn him out.

Not that he minded – he loved that Victor let him show how he felt about the other man.

He still didn’t do so great with words – thankfully, Victor didn’t expect that.

It was a stark contrast to the fights he’d had with his exes – none of them had understood that for Yuuri, taking care of his partners _was_ the way he said that he loved them.

But Victor, somehow understood – he’d certainly not said anything on the matter.

He set the cups down and pressed a kiss to Victor’s shoulder – the older man had dozed off again.

“Mh?”

“I brought you coffee.”

Victor grumbled something, but obediently rolled over and picked up the mug.

Yuuri watched fondly as slowly, Victor woke up properly, stretching and yawning as he did so.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty!” he teased – and Victor just glowered over the mug.

“Why are you so chipper today?”

“Mh, it’s Sunday. I want to enjoy the last day we have before we have to go back to work.”

Victor nodded. “Fair enough. Sorry for sleeping in, then.”

“Don’t be. As you pointed out, you were _quite_ exhausted.”

“Yes, well, I still need to let Makka out.” Victor quietly whined.

“Oh, I did that. Fed, watered, and out in the garden.” He happily said, looking around for the shirt he’d borrowed from Victor the night before. He found it by the bedside table – when he looked back towards Victor, the other man had the most speechless expression on his face.

“Y-You did?”

“Should I not have?”

“No, no, that’s fine. I just… you know, I was thinking this even when you still thought I was an escort, but you _like_ taking care of people, don’t you?”

Yuuri blinked in confusion.

“I… do? It’s how I show someone that I care for them. You know that.”

He… did, right? For a moment, Yuuri wasn’t so sure – Victor’s pained smile certainly wasn’t reassuring.

“You care… right. Well, I’m sure Makka is glad that you _care_ about her. Anyway, why don’t I show you the pool? It’s the perfect temperature for a morning swim!” Victor declared, practically sprinting from the bedroom.

Yuuri stared after him – he was pretty sure something had just happened, he just didn’t know what.

* * *

“He doesn’t get it!” Victor snapped at Chris – they were sitting in a quiet corner of a rather loud bar.

“And have YOU told him?”

“I made it pretty damn clear in that hotel room!” He snarled – Chris looked unbothered.

“So you didn’t actually say the words, and yet you’re upset that Yuuri won’t either? Victor, why are you like this?”

He scoffed at his friend and emptied the rest of his glass. “I just don’t understand what he’s thinking. This isn’t… I can’t _ask_ him. I have my pride too.”

“Okay, fine. Then… why don’t you just _tell_ him you love him?”

The noise around them seemed to fade – or maybe it was just the ringing in Victor’s ears – he wasn’t sure, but he HAD had a few.

“I don’t want to do that either. What if he doesn’t say it back?”

“What if he does?”

“Chris!” Victor snapped again. “I… remember when you said I can’t half-date him and lie to him? Well, I also can’t keep being the one to… to always go out on a limb, okay?”

To his surprise, Chris gave him a serious look and nodded slowly. “That… may be the first sensible thing you’ve done since you got that first cash-filled envelope.”

Fighting the urge to flip his friend off, Victor shrugged. “What if he never…?”

“Then he’s an idiot. Besides, do you really _doubt_ that he loves you?”

Victor wanted to say no – but he couldn’t.

“He’s… almost the same as when it was just an escort thing. He’s nice, considerate, kind… he treats me _so_ well, but… I don’t know. I expected it to be different.”

“Different how? You expected a ring by now?”

Victor flushed slightly – he didn’t _expect_ one, but he wouldn’t be _opposed_ exactly either.

“I just don’t know what to do.” He sighed quietly.

* * *

“Yuuri, into my office please.” Chris said, nearly startling Yuuri into dropping the files he was holding.

“Y-Your office? Uh, sure.” He agreed, following the Head of HR to said office, a floor above his own. Chris didn’t seem to be in a good mood, and he was immediately scared he’d done something wrong.

He hadn’t, had he?

He hoped not.

“Have a seat.”

He sat down, while Chris rummaged around for a file and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to him.

“I think it’s time to update that, don’t you think?” Chris said.

Yuuri blinked in confusion. “My… emergency contact sheet?”

He looked over the edge of the paper to Chris, who was giving him an amused look.

“Don’t you think Victor should be on there?”

He blushed – suddenly, he remembered that Chris was Victor’s _best friend_.

“Do you think he’d be okay with that?”

Chris clicked his tongue and handed Yuuri another page – Victor’s copy of the same sheet. There were only two entries – and a post-it.

Chris, himself… and the post-it mentioned Makka as his next of kin. Yuuri couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him when he saw.

“He insisted she be mentioned, I compromised with the post-it so I can remove it if I ever need to show it to anyone important.”

Yuuri laughed and handed back Victor’s sheet, before picking up a pen to add to his own.

“When did he… add me?” he asked, his heart racing a little.

“Sorry, but I’m not allowed to say.”

“Company rules?” He asked, disappointed.

Chris snickered. “No. Let’s just say he’d be very mad if I told you how… quickly he added you to it, okay?”

Blushing again, Yuuri hastily added the info and initialled next to it. He gave it back to Chris, who looked it over with a nod.

“Great, thanks. If you don’t mind my meddling… how are things going, anyway? Between you two?”

He shifted in his chair. “I… wouldn’t Victor have told you anyway?”

Chris pursed his lips. “Sure. But let’s say, for argument’s sake, that I think that he’s an idiot, and I want to know what you think.”

He gaped a little, before shaking off his affront. Chris was Victor’s friend – he clearly didn’t mean the insult.

“W-Well… it’s been going pretty amazing. Victor meets me where I am. He’s… okay with me not being the best talker.”

“Meaning?”

Yuuri looked away. “My previous relationships didn’t end well. Some of them didn’t even start well. There were always… well, my exes they got mad at me a lot, for not saying the right things at the right time. Victor lets me… show him instead.”

“Huh. How romantic.” Chris said sardonically.

Yuuri shrugged. “I-I’m just glad that we were able to work things out after… New York.”

A thought struck him and his head snapped up, eyes fixing on Chris. “Y-You know… I never thanked you. For helping out. Before.”

“I didn’t do much.” Chris said with a weak smile.

“W-Well, you arranged… New York.”

“I did – but last I checked that didn’t exactly go well.”

Yuuri winced. “No, but you tried. A-Anyway, I should get back to work now.”

Chris stood when he did, and he sighed dramatically. “If only a certain CIO was as dedicated to his work as you are… instead he just mopes, and sulks, and _pines_ all day.”

He grinned. “Does he?”

Chris gave him a level look and pointed at the door to his office – Yuuri left, his grin even wider than before.

* * *

“You need to tell him. In words.” Chris said, slamming a file down on Victor’s desk.

“Tell who what and how, other than with words, would I tell them?” he asked, frowning up at his friend.

He had a headache – and a workload that was entirely unsympathetic to his pain.

Chris didn’t look amused. “You need to tell Yuuri that you’re not happy with how things are, in plain English.”

“And why would I do that? I AM happy.” He declared frostily – he wasn’t in the mood for Chris’ meddling.

“No, you’re not. You’re just putting up with it, waiting for him to make a move.” Chris insisted.

While true, he didn’t want to think about that – nor did he have the time to do so.

“And why tell me that?”

“Because I spoke to him, and he thinks you’re okay with it. In fact, he said that you were nicer than his exes because you don’t force him to say things.”

Victor froze for a moment.

“So… after I told you NOT to say anything, you went and bothered him anyway, and now you’re basically telling me how to have my relationship?” His tone was icy – and Chris leaned back with a surprised frown.

“Well, no, I was just…”

“ _No_. I asked you to let it go. Also, if what you just said is true, then I CAN’T say anything, because then I’d be no better than his exes.”

“What? Victor no, that’s not it at all, I just think-“

“Chris, I don’t have the time right now. I have to finish this, and soon. Leave the file and close the door behind yourself.”

He felt awful for basically pulling rank on his friend – and Chris’ closed-off expression showed he wasn’t pleased with Victor either – but it was the _truth_. He was busy, and sick, and he REALLY couldn’t allow himself to think about the Yuuri situation or he’d just break apart completely.

Chris slammed the door shut, and Victor sighed quietly.


	12. Chapter 12

Yuuri had expected Victor to be busy when he’d gone up to his office after his texts went unanswered – he hadn’t expected Victor to look as… haggard as he did. The other man was beautiful as always, but his hair was messy, and his expression tense, even his shoulders drawn back awkwardly.

He stepped into the office – he didn’t need to knock, as per Victor’s request from before – and set down the coffee he’d brought.

Victor barely reacted to his presence.

“Victor? Are you okay?” He tentatively asked – his lover’s expression when he looked up revealed he _wasn’t_.

“Yuuri.” The other man greeted him – and he definitely didn’t sound happy that he was there. Fighting the urge to just turn around and go, he carefully stepped around the desk. Victor’s eyes followed his movements, only occasionally darting to the coffee he’d set down.

“What’s wrong? You look…” He trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence. Victor frowned.

“I’m not feeling well, and I’m slammed with work. Thanks for the coffee.”

It was clearly a dismissal, but Yuuri wasn’t about to let it go quite so easily. “Can I get you some medicine? Some food? Can I…help with your work?” He had his own things to do, but he wanted to help if he could – surely there was something he could do?

Victor smiled tentatively. “That’s nice, but I don’t think I’d be very good company right now.”

“So? I’m not asking for you to be good company, I just want to… help.”

Victor seemed to think about it – apparently, it wasn’t an easy decision. That rubbed Yuuri the wrong way – so he stepped behind Victor’s chair and placed his hands on the man’s shoulders. His muscles were hard as rock – he’d clearly been tense for quite some time.

He gently started to massage, surprised when Victor flinched at the first touch – only to then hold still and occasionally sigh.

“Is this helping?” He asked after a few minutes when his lover didn’t say anything.

“Hm? I… yeah. It is, actually. Thanks. But you don’t have to do that. I… I’m not exactly up for… stuff.”

He stared at the back of Victor’s head blankly before he figured out what the other man meant – and then huffed in annoyance.

“I didn’t come here to seduce you. I came to bring you coffee and now I want to make you feel better.” He said, digging his fingers in more harshly to make his point.

Whether it was his words or his hands that made Victor react, he wasn’t sure – but his tension seemed to drain out of him quite suddenly, and he half-slumped in his seat.

“Sorry. I know that. I’m not thinking straight, I have this horrible headache, and…” He snapped his mouth shut, cutting himself off from whatever else he’d wanted to say.

Yuuri waited to see if he’d continue, but it seemed not.

Just as well – he’d already revealed plenty. Yuuri moved his fingers higher and massaged at Victor’s neck and then up to his temples when no protest came. It was something his mother had occasionally done for him when he’d had a headache as a kid – and at least for him, it had usually worked.

Victor seemed to respond as well, gradually relaxing under his touch until he sighed in obvious relief.

A hand slowly travelled up to where Yuuri’s fingers were resting high on his neck and circled his wrist.

He didn’t pull his hand away so much as he just gently held it – so Yuuri changed his grip so their fingers were interlaced and leaned down to press a gentle kiss on Victor’s head. He wasn’t sure if that was crossing a line, but no protest came.

In fact, the opposite. Victor squeezed his fingers.

“Yuuri?”

“Mhm?”

“You’d tell me, right? If... something was wrong. If you weren’t happy with... this.”

He paused for a moment. Had he given Victor that impression...?

“Of course I would. But... I’m not? I mean... things are perfect, just like they are.”

Victor sighed softly and nodded, then turned in his chair until he was facing Yuuri.

“And... And for you?” Yuuri felt obligated to ask – was Victor unhappy?

For a moment, the other man flinched – then he smiled weakly.

“No... if you’re happy then I’m happy. Thank you for the massage.”

Yuuri smiled back sweetly. “I’m glad I could help. Now how about your work... Anything I can help with so you get through this faster?”

* * *

Victor ran a hand over Yuuri’s back – the younger man was fast asleep against his side, passed out after, well, wearing himself out.

He sighed softly, his body shuddering pleasantly.

Yuuri had taken perfect care of him – he’d helped with his work, called them a cab, he had let Makka out, made him some hot tea, and he’d done all the heavy lifting in bed, once Victor had convinced him that YES he was up for it.

They hadn’t made any official plans for him to spend the weekend, but Yuuri also hadn’t exactly acted as if he was fixing to leave soon.

Victor rolled over and wrapped himself bodily around his lover.

Yuuri was so good to him – and he’d already forgiven him for how he’d lied and deceived Yuuri at first.

He knew he couldn’t ask for more – it wasn’t fair.

He was already getting more than his due in the way of a partner – he’d never been with someone as attentive as Yuuri.

Yet no matter how often he told himself that, he couldn’t get over that fantasy – Yuuri leaning over to him, at dinner, whispering that he loved Victor.

Yuuri moaning it during sex.

Yuuri slipping him a note in a meeting saying he wanted to spend his life together with Victor.

Yuuri taking him somewhere romantic and proposing to him.

Yuuri...

He sighed into the mop of black hair tucked under his chin.

There was always a chance it was too soon – maybe Yuuri wasn’t quite there yet. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fallen for the other man stupidly fast...

Yes, he decided bitterly, it had to be that. He wasn’t willing to accept the alternative that was staring him right in the face – that it was only him.

* * *

“Hey Chris!” Yuuri greeted the other man brightly as he entered the employee kitchen. They normally had one on each floor, but the one on his own had had a sign taped to the door that it was out of commission for the week because of some renovations – and right underneath had been a note saying that the accounting department was welcome to use HR’s kitchen for the time being.

So, he’d gone up after lunch to get himself a cup – and he’d run straight into Chris, who was sitting at the small table having his own coffee.

“Hi Yuuri! How’s it going?”

“Fine... Thanks for lending us your kitchen!”

“No problem... Though I hear you usually run down the street?” the man asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Yuuri flushed slightly.

“O-Only when I’m getting coffee for Victor. Or sometimes Phichit.”

“How sweet. Well in afraid we can’t exactly keep up with the good stuff.”

Yuuri grabbed one of the little tubs and put it into the machine – he got the lighter Macchiato flavour.

“This is plenty. I appreciate not having to go out actually, it’s raining.”

“True... plus Victor is in meetings all day. Chris cheerily said.

He nodded meekly – not that he didn’t already know that, and had moped about it.

“How is it going with you two then? Shall I expect a happy announcement soon?” Chris teased as he got up and put his empty cup in the sink.

Yuuri froze. Images of him and Victor at an altar ran through his mind, of them wearing matching suits, one white and one black – Makka as a flower girl, his family greeting Victor formally...

He shook his head and cleared his throat.

“A... A what?”

“Aw come on now, you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

Blushing even more, he shrugged lightly. He HADN’T but he knew for a fact that he was going to spend the next few hours doing exactly that.

“Victor could do much better than me if he wanted to get married.” He said without thinking about it, only to freeze when he saw Chris’s shocked face.

He was surprised too – he normally kept his inadequacy issues to himself.

“Huh?” Chris asked dumbly.

“I-I just mean... He could get someone better suited to him. That’s all.” He stuttered out, grabbing his finished coffee cup and heading towards the door.

“Is it?” Chris asked just as he was about to make his escape – and he froze, half-turning back.

“L-Look, I know that Victor... wants to be with me for now, but he probably won’t want to be forever. And... and I wouldn’t expect him to stay with me longer than he wants to.”

There, that almost sounded normal.

Almost.

“But what do YOU want?” Chris asked – immediately, the wedding images flashed through his mind again, followed by plenty more such domestic pictures.

He sipped his piping hot coffee.

“I... I just want him to be happy, that’s all.”

Chris frowned intensely for a second before shrugging.

“Then you should probably tell him that.”

Yuuri grinned weakly. “That... He knows. We have an understanding.”

Chris’s expression turned serious for a moment – almost... angry.

“Do you?”

Yuuri spun around and fled towards the elevator.


	13. Chapter 13

“ _Why_ do I have a text from Yuuri asking if you’re mad at him?” Victor snapped as soon as Chris opened the door to his office and let him in.

Chris blinked comically.

“Possibly because he sent that text to you?”

“And WHY did he send it?”

His friend cleared his throat. “Maybe because I may have given him the impression that I am?”

Victor took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

“Okay... And why did you do THAT?”

“Because I’m mad at him.” Chris replied lightly, opening the drawer in his desk where he kept his booze stash.

Good – Victor could do with a drink.

He snatched the glass up when it was offered and threw it back.

“Did you meddle again?” He asked his friend after a minute or so.

Chris winked at him. “Not like you think. We ran into each other in the kitchen.”

“You... don’t share a kitchen.” He snapped.

“We do right now. They’re renovating some stuff and they’re doing it in batches. First the even floors and then the uneven ones and- as I say this it occurs to me you don’t care about kitchens.” Chris ended lamely. “Look, I really didn’t say anything bad. Nothing about how you feel or anything. I just... teased him a bit.”

“About?”

“Nothing serious. I promise. It just... He said something that threw me off guard.”

“And that’s why he thinks you’re mad? What did he say?”

Chris pursed his lips and then slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry, I really don’t think I should say. It... he didn’t mean to say it. I think he’d be embarrassed if-”

Victor leaned across Chris’s desk until their faces were inches from each other and angrily squinted at his friend.

“Tell me!”

To his surprise – he expected Chris to cave – the other man shook his head again and patted him on the shoulder.

“Not this time Victor. I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. You can’t expect me to keep YOUR secrets and then expect me to tell you his.”

That... Well, when he put it like that...

“Sorry.” He muttered.

Chris waved him off. “Water under the bridge. Have you made plans for the upcoming holidays yet?”

Victor absent-mindedly shook his head. His company gave their employees a fair bit of time off – and unused time off had to be taken as holiday by the end of the fiscal year.

In his case, he’d put in for a week off several months ago – and he’d forgotten.

“I doubt Yuuri has the same time off as me.” Victor said quietly.

Chris huffed. “You know I could have meant so you and I go out and do something, but I guess I can throw you a bone – he’s got the same dates off as you.”

Victor squinted at his friend. That seemed... Unlikely.

“And when did he put this request in?”

Chris grinned and quickly typed something on his computer. “About 15 seconds ago.”

He chuckled. “You really have no qualms about abusing tour power do you?”

“Not if it helps my best friend in his quest for epic romance!”

He finished his drink. “And especially because you know your birthday is coming up and now I _have_ to get you something amazing?”

Chris blatantly batted his eyelashes at him.

* * *

Yuuri was floating through his flat as he packed a bag – he was spending a whole WEEK with Victor!

He hadn’t expected the email from HR telling him he had unused vacation time he needed to take, nor that he was assigned a fixed slot, but when he’d received texted Victor and had heard they had the same week off, excitement has won out.

Victor had immediately insisted they go away for the week – and Yuuri had been powerless to refuse him. So, he was packing for a surprise trip.

He had no idea where they were going – Victor hadn’t said and his lover had refused to so much as give him a _clue_ about it.

Grinning to himself, he packed hiking boots right along with his nicest suit, a pair of swimming trunks and a pair of fuzzy handcuffs. He didn’t think Victor was the hiking type, but then again, he was definitely the type to do something unexpected - and he wanted to be prepared.

Humming, he grabbed his phone, charger, and keys, and locked the door behind himself, pulling his suitcase along.

Victor had sent his personal driver to pick him up – he knew the black town car by now.

What he hadn’t expected were Makka and Victor already in the backseat when he got in.

“Hi Yuuri! I decided it would be quicker if we just came along and headed straight there!” His lover beamed.

Yuuri returned the smile and quickly ruffled Makka’s fur.

“Thanks for that. Sorry if I kept you waiting. Can I know where we’re going yet?”

Victor’s smile brightened. “Nope! You’ll see when we get there!”

* * *

Victor was having the time of his life watching Yuuri try to figure it out. If was a bit unfair – the small airfield they pulled into wasn’t exactly too helpful. He seemed to get a clue when their car pulled up to a small charter plane – immediately, Yuuri went pale.

“I... We... Are we flying somewhere?”

“Yup! Hope you brought your passport!”

The other man whimpered quietly as Victor hopped out and led Makka up the stairs and into the cabin. Yuuri was close behind.

“This... You rented us a plane?”

“I did! We can’t fly _commercial_ on a romantic getaway now can we?” he chirped – and Yuuri groaned.

“I... We flew commercial to the Maldives.”

He gently took Yuuri’s hand.

“That was different. It was your trip. This one is mine – and I intend to spoil you like you usually spoil me.”

He meant every word – he’d been looking for a way to show Yuuri how grateful he was, and this was the perfect opportunity.

“Can I know where we’re going yet?” Yuuri asked in a defeated tone.

“Nnnnnope!”

* * *

Yuuri was gaping at the property they’d pulled up to. Not that everything else hadn’t already knocked him clear out of his comfort zone – the rented plane, the fancy champagne, the stretch limo when they’d gotten off the plane, but the house they were at? It was incredible.

Victor hadn’t outright told him where they were, but he’d pieced it together from landmarks – they were in California, somewhere.

Where exactly, he wasn’t sure – not that it mattered. Victor’s rented limo had pulled up to what looked like the sort of luxury home people only ever had in movies – the sort of thing Bruce Wayne would have to get a loan to pay for.

Victor was beaming next to him – Makka was already off to explore the obviously huge grounds – while Yuuri stumbled towards the main entrance of the ultra-modern Mediterranean villa they were apparently staying at.

“What do you think?” Victor chirped as they reached it.

“This… is amazing. How did you even find it? You can rent places like this?”

His lover hummed. “Well, sort of. It belongs to someone on the board. Since he’s also a distant relative I asked if I could borrow it for the week. He only comes here with his wife a few times a year and she’s currently not talking to him, so…”

Yuuri blinked.

“That… uh, okay? W-Well it’s an amazing place.” He said, stepping inside and studying the large entrance hall – his entire flat could fit in it, without touching the walls.

He squeaked when quite suddenly, he found himself pulled around, manhandled into a mock waltz by the other man. He grinned and took the lead, ignoring the lack of music.

“It has a stretch of private beach on the other side of the estate.” Victor explained.

Yuuri’s hand trailed lower on Victor’s back. “That’s nice. How many bedrooms?”

Victor’s smile changed to something rather impish. “Not sure… we’ll have to count them, won’t we?”

Yuuri flushed. “Better double-count, just to be sure.”

“Hm, will a week even be enough?” Victor mused, leaning back in Yuuri’s arms. He took the cue and twirled him around before pulling the other man back.

“I can’t believe you got us this place for a whole week.”

“Yes, well, I have a lot of spoiling to catch up on – you have a headstart!” Victor declared with a wink.

Yuuri nearly choked on the raw affection he felt for the man – clearly, they DID understand each other. He ignored the way Chris’s ‘Do you?’ echoed in the back of his mind.


	14. Chapter 14

Victor was watching with rapt attention as Yuuri threw a stick for Makka. The winds at the beach allowed it to fly quite far out, and his pupper was all too happy to swim out a bit to get it back. He himself was perched in the shade on a lounge-chair, watching Yuuri and Makka have fun.

He wasn’t exactly feeling neglected himself – Yuuri had apparently decided to turn their little get-away into a competition of who could spoil the other one more, and sadly – or luckily – for him, Yuuri wasn’t exactly losing. They’d both woken up early with the intention to make the other breakfast in bed – except Yuuri had beaten him by 15 minutes.

He’d managed to surprise the other with getting takeout sushi delivered to their doorstep… but Yuuri had caught up by mixing them colourful cocktails while he’d gone to fetch the food.

Victor had taken one of the silly golf carts parked around the back and had driven them down to the beach – it would have otherwise been a 15 minute walk. Yuuri had packed some beers in a cooler and had pre-selected some sticks at some point to throw for Makka.

Really, he wasn’t sure who was winning, but it was almost enough to distract him from what was STILL eating at him.

Almost.

“Victor, do you want to go for a swim?” Yuuri called out from where he was standing knee-deep in the blue ocean.

He grinned and got up, setting his sunglasses down. “Race you to the rocks over there!” He called out – the rocks in question where decidedly closer to him than to Yuuri, and the other man gasped in fake outrage – and then they were both running, or rather stumbling, through the sand in the direction of their goal.

* * *

Yuuri knew something was up – he’d realised on the first day, and it had only gotten worse from there.

Victor was _watching_ him. More than normal, more than he would have expected given that they were alone together.

He seemed to be scrutinising Yuuri almost constantly for something – what, he didn’t know.

The other man was all too happy to be distracted – particularly in bed – but as soon as it was over, when they were just holding each other, the other man seemed to contemplate something about him.

He wasn’t brave enough to ask, but he couldn’t help but suspect that it was something to do with his conversation with Chris. He hadn’t meant to blurt out what he had – and he didn’t doubt that Chris had told Victor all about it.

Was he thinking that he could do better than Yuuri? Had he himself planted the thoughts in the man’s mind? Victor didn’t necessarily act like that was what he was thinking, but Yuuri wasn’t sure… couldn’t be sure, actually.

It was, however, difficult to discount the possibility the longer it went on. By the third day, Yuuri knew that he was getting fidgety – he wanted to talk to Victor, but he didn’t know how to ask, or even what to say.

Not to mention if it WAS what he was fearing, then forcing the conversation could easily lead to Victor vocalising it for himself – that he could do better.

Yuuri cuddled down, wrapping his arms around Makka more tightly. They were sat on the first-floor balcony facing the sunset – Victor was behind them, relaxing in the hot tub. Yuuri had declined to join him – he’d already spent half the day in the ocean, he was sick of looking like a prune.

That certainly wouldn’t make him any more attractive to Victor either, a nasty little voice inside his head pointed out.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He found himself asking, warily glancing at the sunset.

Victor hummed behind him. “It is. We don’t really get this kind of sunset in Detroit, do we?”

He chuckled weakly. “Not that I’ve ever seen anyway.”

“Yuuri… is something wrong? You suddenly look a bit down.” Victor asked.

Yuuri winced – the man would know, with how he’d been watching, wouldn’t he?

“I’m fine.” He immediately replied, not turning around.

“Are you homesick? We can go back sooner if you want…” Victor offered, and Yuuri froze.

He half-turned after all, looking over at his lover who was hovering in the nearest corner of the tub and looking at him warily.

“Is that what _you_ want?” Yuuri asked with a hollow voice.

Victor gave him a mildly annoyed look. “Of course not, but if you’re not enjoying it here…”

He shrugged. “I am. It’s fine. Really. I just… I don’t know, I’m not in a great mood right now.”

“Right… you could always join me in here so I can cheer you up…” Victor offered, his smile clearly showing he was trying to change the topic.

Yuuri shook his head and stood. “Sorry, I think I’m just going to have a shower and lay down. You enjoy the pool.” He said, pressing a gentle kiss to Victor’s temple before going inside.

Chris’s ‘Do you?’ was echoing in his mind like a cruel joke.

* * *

Victor was miserable. Things had been awkward between them for the last day or so, and he knew he was the reason. He KNEW he’d been watching too closely and that he had been overdoing it. Yuuri had noticed, and he’d made him feel self-conscious.

Worse still, he couldn’t explain the why and how of it, nor could he make himself stop. The more Yuuri pulled away, actually, the more desperately he was watching out for some kind of affirmation of Yuuri’s feelings.

It was a rather vicious circle – and he knew there was no good ending to it either. There were only two options – Yuuri kept drawing back further, or Yuuri would bring it up and make him explain. Neither were good options, and yet…

He wanted to kick himself for being so needy in the first place. He desperately wished he could just be happy with what he had – he’d struggled with that LESS when Yuuri had still treated him like an escort.

He realised it was probably that, actually – he’d suddenly been given _almost_ everything he wanted… and thus found himself wanting the rest of it too.

He sighed loudly, hoping for some form of miracle that would put him out of his misery, when his phone rang.

He picked it up without checking the caller.

“Nikiforov speaking.”

“Hey, it’s Chris. Listen, there is some major stuff going on at work. I know you’re not here but you NEED to come back. Like, yesterday.”

He sat up on the bed, startling Makka off it. Chris sounded serious – and he wasn’t the type to joke about that.

“What’s going on?”

“Half the board just resigned, and a huge chunk of employees handed in their resignations.”

“W-What? Why?”

“Well, apparently Yakov and Lilia are finally getting a divorce, and Lilia is leaving with most of the staff she brought in to start her own company.”

Victor gulped – they were, after all, in Yakov and Lilia’s house _right now_. He hadn’t known it was THAT bad.

“So what’s happening?”

“Yakov waived all the non-competes for the employees that want to go to make it a smoother transition but there is a huge amount of people leaving. We’ve got tons of HR people going, marketing, account managers, even the maintenance company that cleans the offices gave notice they’re ending our contract.”

“And my department?” He asked, mentally cataloguing what he’d have to do to compensate – and to potentially fill gaps.

“You’re one of the few not losing many people. One intern and one mid-tier techie resigned, but that’s it.”

He sighed in relief.

“Oh don’t get too excited.” Chris drawled. “We’re going to have to commandeer some of your people to fill the gaps until we can hire more people in. And you need to be here RIGHT NOW to help us.”

He cursed quietly, but jumped up and started digging around for some clothes. There was absolutely no way he could weasel his way out if THAT was happening – how did he even get so unlucky?

“Right, well, I’ll be on the first flight back. Prep me the employee files so that I can look at them as soon as I get in, and I’ll make a list of who I can spare without crippling the IT side of the company.” He ordered, already half-way dressed.

“Done. Anything else?”

“I’ll let you know.” He hung up, slipped his phone in his pocket, and grabbed the small carry-on that had his most important stuff, including his passport, wallet and laptop. He hurried out of the bedroom only to run into a completely startled Yuuri, who was dripping wet, wrapped only in a towel following his morning shower.

Oops.

He allowed himself to take in every delicious inch of his lover for a minute before his brain caught up to the fact that he was acting oddly, and should probably explain himself.

“Are you… leaving?” Yuuri asked, hands tightening on a towel Victor wished would slip off already.

He gulped – it wasn’t like Yuuri HADN’T already fucked him that morning. Why was this on his mind now that he had to go?

“Yeah. There’s an emergency at work. I… uh, Chris said that a LOT of people are resigning and I need to reassign people in my department to cover the gaps, so… I’m really sorry.”

Yuuri frowned. “It… so we need to go back to work?”

He shook his head. “No, no, not you. There isn’t much you can do and I’m afraid I can’t take Makka on a normal flight this quickly either. So, you can stay and then come back on the private plane the day after tomorrow.”

“That… really? You… don’t need me to come with?”

Victor took a shuddering breath and stepped over to Yuuri wrapping him in a tight hug. “No, really. I appreciate it, but you should enjoy your time off. And… and please look after Makka?”

He had no idea why, but he was suddenly feeling oddly anxious – and he hated the idea of prematurely ending their holiday even if it hadn’t been going like he’d hoped.

“Of course. Is there anything I can do to help?” Yuuri offered, and Victor had to fight a laugh.

Instead of a verbal answer, he leaned down and kissed Yuuri – he tried to put everything he felt into the kiss, desperately hoping for an answer.

Yuuri kissed him back like he was a man starving, and Victor was his meal. He whimpered into the kiss, hands tugging at Yuuri’s arms – he was suddenly so desperate for the other man, wanted him to carve into Victor’s flesh that they would be okay.

Part of him worried that if he left Yuuri on a bad note, they’d never recover from it.

Deft hands undid his belt and zipper before he could figure out what was happening – and then Yuuri broke their kiss and sank to his knees, fingers already pulling Victor’s erection free of its confines. His lover wasted no time before sucking him into his mouth, jerking the part that wouldn’t fit off with practiced, rough motions.

He was howling with surprised pleasure, his eyes fixed partly on Yuuri’s lips around his dick, and partly on those gorgeous, warm brown eyes staring up at him. In an embarrassingly short time, he felt himself getting close – he trailed his fingers down Yuuri’s cheek to warn him, given that words weren’t really a thing at the moment.

Yuuri lightly patted his thigh and redoubled his efforts, speeding up, tightening his grip just so – and then he was coming, his hands buried in shaggy black hair as Yuuri sucked him until he started to go soft before standing up – a little awkwardly.

Victor shivered, fighting the urge to just collapse onto the floor. He tucked himself away with shaky hands and opened his mouth to offer to retaliate – dear god did he want to retaliate.

Before he could get the words out, Yuuri had already leaned up on his tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to Victor’s cheek.

“Have a safe flight. Don’t worry, I’ll look after Makka so you don’t have to worry about her.”

“Uh, did you want me to…” He stuttered, gesturing towards Yuuri’s towel. The man flushed.

“Well, yeah, but you don’t have the time. It’s okay. You can say thank you when I’m back and the crisis is over.”

Victor felt a wave of affection rush over him and embraced Yuuri again.

“Thank you. And… I’m really sorry. For leaving, and for… well, I wanted the trip to be perfect.”

Yuuri gently straightened the collar of his shirt. “Don’t worry. You were here, so it _was_. Now go, you need to catch a plane. I’ll send you pictures of Makka so you won’t worry.”

Victor laughed breathlessly – how had he gotten so lucky?

He stumbled towards the door, knees still weak from Yuuri’s blowjob.

“I’d be just as happy about pictures of you, you know!” he blurted out when Yuuri followed a few steps behind.

Not unexpectedly, the other man blushed scarlet. “That… I’ve never… well, I’ll see what I can do. Have a safe trip.” He stuttered, closing the door behind Victor once he stepped through.

It wasn’t until Victor was in the cab that he’d ordered that he realised how what he’d said had to have sounded – he groaned in shame. He certainly hadn’t MEANT to ask for nudes… but then he also wasn’t entirely opposed to them.

Or at all.

Especially because that nasty little voice in his brain that occasionally surfaced pointed out that if Yuuri sent him any, he’d at least have something to remember the love of his life by if Yuuri dumped him for ruining things.

He thumped his head against the window of the cab, wondering why he was _like_ this.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuuri spent a half-hour aimlessly wandering around the house after Victor left – it seemed MUCH bigger without the other man there.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, he dug out his phone and dialled Phichit – his friend picked up after a few rings.

“Hey Yuuri! You’ve heard?”

“Uh… not a lot. Is… what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, I’m not high enough in the food chain for all the details, but a TON of people resigned effective immediately. It’s huge drama. You should be lucky you’re not here, they’re reassigning people left and right. I’m helping out HR at the moment.”

“Wow. I… uh, Victor just headed to the airport to fly back. I’m staying to look after Makka.”

“How _domestic_.” Phichit teased. “But yeah, it’s pretty wild, half the offices are empty and everyone is stressed.”

“You still picked up the phone though.” Yuuri said, dropping into a wicker chair on the patio.

“Well, how could I not when it’s my work-wife calling?” Phichit sing-songed.

Yuuri snorted. “Work-husband if anything.”

“If you say so… I’m sure Victor will be disappointed.”

“You can’t tell, but I’m flipping you off right now.” Yuuri snarked.

Phichit laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, I could tell. But listen, I need to go. Sorry, I can’t chat longer but I have a huge workload signing these wavers and all that.”

He immediately felt guilty for disturbing the other man. “Right, sorry. Uh, good luck. I’ll be back Monday.”

The call ended, and Yuuri was left staring at his phone – he’d hoped Phichit would know more, but…

Well, at least the premature end of their trip had been caused by a real emergency rather than Yuuri getting dumped.

His phone buzzed, nearly causing him to drop it in surprise – a text, from Victor.

‘Boarding in 10, miss you.’ It read.

He smiled softly – maybe things weren’t quite as bad as he thought, if Victor missed him already?

He gulped – Victor had asked for photos of him… blushing awkwardly, he shifted in his chair until his legs were tucked under him, towel pulled out of the way. He snapped a picture from a rather awkward angle – it wasn’t explicit per say, but it made it clear that he was sitting in the sun, naked.

It actually looked sort of good, he had to admit as he sent it – he was so flustered he forgot to add a caption.

Oops.

It seemed Victor didn’t mind though, because within seconds, he was absolutely spammed by messages containing nothing but ‘<3’s – at least a dozen. Victor actually typed them so quickly that a few of them came out as ‘<#’ instead, making Yuuri laugh out loud.

He could work with that.

* * *

Victor paid for the upgrade to get mobile service on the plane without a single thought – if there was even the SLIGHTEST chance Yuuri would send another picture like that, he wasn’t about to risk missing out on that for even a second.

He was still wheezing at the picture when the plane had already taken off – it showed Yuuri from above, lounging in a chair, his skin only covered in sunlight. It gave his skin tone a sort of shimmery effect that his own pale skin could never hope to imitate – not that he wasn’t far more preoccupied with how Yuuri was obviously flexing his thighs, toes curled up by his side.

He’d never been particularly into feet, or even thighs, but he’d be damned if there wasn’t something magnetic about the way Yuuri’s pulled him in.

He only just resigned himself to not getting more when half an hour into the flight, his phone buzzed again, and he nearly knocked over his laptop in his haste to get it out of his pocket.

He’d have been embarrassed at his fumbling were it not for the picture that downloaded almost immediately – Yuuri had apparently changed his mind on the hot tub, because the picture showed him from his shoulders to _just_ below his nipples, the rest hidden in the brightly illuminated bubbles of the tub. His hair was slicked back and he was coyly smiling at the camera, his glasses low on his nose and fogged up.

Victor cursed.

* * *

If pressed, Yuuri would admit to having… fun, actually. He knew Victor would be in the air for about four and a half hours, and honestly, he’d not really planned to keep going after the first picture, but he was enjoying Victor’s reactions too much to stop.

He felt silly for even thinking it since generally speaking it was usually him that the description applied to, but Victor was acting so damn _thirsty_ he couldn’t help it. He’d taken several pictures already, having wandered around the house in search of photo opportunities after his quick dip in the hot tub.

He’d taken enough to send Victor a few per hour for several more hours – which he proceeded to do, while he himself bundled up under an unnecessarily huge blanket on the couch, something or other running on the TV, Makka across his legs.

The reaction was always the same – a whole flurry of emojis, accompanied by the odd ‘fuck’, ‘more please’, and ‘omg I shouldn’t have left’.

He snickered at the latest one – ‘Why are you torturing me?’

‘Because you asked me to.’ He texted back – the only reply was a stream of sobbing emojis.

He did the only thing he could – he sent another picture of himself laying on his stomach on a sun lounge, sun screen in his hand, a little bit of it dripping down his wrist. He’d felt a bit bad wasting it, but as the result was an oddly sexy picture, he’d dismissed it fairly quickly.

The picture was cheesy, but it was also suggestive, and Victor’s reactions so far all suggested he’d like it.

Indeed, seconds later, he received an ‘I’m dead, rip me.’ That had him laughing again.

* * *

Victor groaned, his head thumping onto the desk a bit too quickly. He was exhausted – he’d barely gotten a few hours sleep, and even those had been on the couch in the corner of his office, as he hadn’t had time to go home.

He’d been working for two days already, putting fires out as soon as they started, and he was reaching his limit. Apparently, or so Yakov had confided in him – unprompted, mind you, because he DEFINITELY hadn’t asked – Lilia had just decided to pack up and go for no reason at all.

He had his suspicions that her side of the story would sound QUITE different, but then he had zero interest in meddling in that too – it was bad enough that he had to deal with one angry middle-aged Russian, he didn’t need a second one to go with it. Especially since he was WAY more scared of Lilia than of Yakov, not that he’d admit that out loud, ever.

No, he settled for doing what he could – reassign everyone not directly involved in keeping the company running to departments that didn’t have enough people, signing off on bonuses left, right, and centre – they needed to retain their remaining employees, and if nothing else, their company DEFINITELY could afford it.

If necessary, he’d happily give up his own bonus payments as well – anything to keep things running and hide what was happening from the outside world.

What made it all worse was that he wasted way too much time missing Yuuri. Even sexy pictures – and damn, they were – could only tide him over for so long… and he wasn’t happy with how they’d left things.

A rushed blowjob didn’t make for much of a goodbye – particularly for Yuuri, who no doubt was mad Victor had had to go.

Meanwhile, his own conviction was wavering too – for all that it had been a point of pride that he didn’t want to be the one who said those three words first, he was slowly not caring anymore – he just wanted to sink into Yuuri’s arms and tell him he loved the other man, pride be damned.

He almost didn’t care anymore that this once again made their relationship inequal in a way that he felt it… shouldn’t be. He was starting to realise that if push came to shove he WOULD pick Yuuri over said pride, but it rubbed him the wrong way that that was a choice he had to make.

It was one thing if he chose to embarrass himself by shamelessly begging that Yuuri fuck him harder already, but another entirely- he interrupted his own train of thought with a groan – not the time or the place.

Lifting his head from his desk with a sigh, he warily stared at the pile of paperwork he still had to go through – and kind, sweet, _hot_ Yuuri was still sending him pictures.

As if on cue, his phone beeped and he snatched it up immediately – the photo nearly knocked him dead. It was Yuuri, laying on the beach in the shallow water, visibly hard under his dark red swimming trunk, a hand casually laying on his thigh as if Victor didn’t already know EXACTLY how he’d gotten himself hard in the first place.

He whined quietly, glancing between the phone and his paperwork.


	16. Chapter 16

Yuuri felt awkward as all hell flying back alone with Makka – while the staff that manned the plane were unfailingly polite and answered all his questions, he felt incredibly misplaced as he sat in one of the comfy seats, waiting for take-off. The stewardess had brought him some water unasked, and he was more than grateful for it.

Makka was laying on the seats across from him – he’d stutteringly asked permission to have her on the seat, and the stewardess had been all too happy to allow it.

She seemed unbothered – he was a little annoyed that even a poodle was less uncomfortable in the private plane than he was.

On a more positive note, going back meant seeing Victor again – he missed his lover. Ironically, the pictures he’d taken and sent had only made it worse – not ONCE had Victor failed to gush over whatever he sent.

It made him feel confident in a way he wasn’t used to… and he was loving it.

He’d not run out of pictures yet, but he was soon going to – he’d tried to time them to his return, best as he could manage. The last few weren’t even all that sexy anymore – that had peaked with the photo of himself laying in the sand with a hard-on.

After that, it had been photos of himself hugging Makka shirtless, stuff like that – nothing he’d object to showing a friend, really. He had one sexy one left – a shot of himself sitting on a kitchen counter naked, a small bowl of ice cream sitting on his lap, some of it dripping onto his chest. That had been an accident, until he’d realised the potential of vanilla ice cream and his sticky situation.

Grinning, he decided to send the photo – he was almost surprised when no immediate reply came. Chalking it up to not having a lot of reception mid-air (it was amazing he had any at all, as far as he was concerned) he settled in for his flight. He wanted to get some sleep so he could head straight to the office after dropping Makka off.

* * *

Victor was doing his best to not fidget too much, but he was having a hard time of it. He was finally at a place where he could go home – or to be more precise, he was thrown out by Yakov who declared he needed a shower – and was thus sitting in his car on the way there.

This coincided perfectly with Yuuri, who had also texted that he was dropping Makka off – and that his phone was dying. He really hoped he wouldn’t miss his lover.

The last thing he wanted was for Yuuri to go to the office while he was home – seeing Yuuri again was half of what had kept him going for as long as he had.

Yuuri’s pictures were the other half, if he was honest.

So, itching as he was to see him again, he all but sprinted into his house, only to find that the only thing that greeted him was Makka.

His poodle was overjoyed to see him – and so was he – but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed Yuuri wasn’t there. Pulling out his phone, he tried to call Yuuri again – to no avail. His phone was definitely still dead.

He briefly thought about heading back to the office, but shuddered in distaste – no way.

He needed to sleep, and shower, not in that order.

His lover would have to wait.

Setting his phone to the loudest volume possible, he set it on his nightstand and headed into the shower.

* * *

Yuuri hadn’t exactly expected the office to be calm and quiet when he got there, but given that it was nearly the end of the working day, he certainly hadn’t been prepared for the absolute pandemonium that he walked into.

People were shuffling papers, half-sprinting down hallways, making panicked phone calls – it all seemed like a bit like a bad movie to Yuuri. He carefully stayed out of everyone’s way and headed to where he expected Phichit to be – the HR floor.

This was not the case.

His friend was nowhere to be seen… and he was a little surprised when he found that out of the entire office he’d seen so far, it was actually the calmest area.

The people sitting at their desks were all keeping their heads down, and not so much as a single loud phone call was happening.

Yuuri really only wanted to borrow a phone charger from his friend, but since that had to wait, he decided to head up to Victor’s office instead – he assumed his lover would be there.

Wrong again. The office was locked, and without his phone, he had no way of calling him either.

He grinned when an idea occurred to him – if nothing else, he knew that Chris had Victor’s number and could contact him directly.

Since Yuuri didn’t actually have it memorised, that was his best option, so he headed back down to HR, and went to knock on Chris’s door. His assistant – who was looking a little pale, he noticed – gave him a wide-eyed look and mutely shook his head – but before Yuuri could stop, he’d already knocked.

The assistant got a shade paler still.

Yuuri didn’t get the opportunity to think about it – the door in front of him was yanked open viciously a mere second later, and a snarling Chris emerged. The man looked like hell – and he was clearly furious.

“I SAID the next person who walks in here without-” He broke off mid-word as he zeroed in on who was standing there – to Yuuri’s confusion, his angry expression hardly changed though. “Oh, you. I didn’t think you were back yet.”

“I, uh, just got here. Is… could I borrow your phone? Mine died?”

Chris grunted and waved for him to come in.

The office was as much of a mess as the rest of the building seemed to be – and Chris fell heavily into his chair.

“Are you okay?” He found himself asking, just as Chris gave him his phone.

The other man glared. “Do I look okay? I’ve been working for almost three days now, and I haven’t slept once. I am literally in charge of separating the company from half its staff and I was told to make it as ‘neat’ as possible by someone who hasn’t worked a day of HR in their LIFE.” He snapped.

Yuuri reared back. “I’m sorry about that. Is… can I help you at all?”

Chris sighed. “Honestly? The best way you can help me is to call your little boy toy and then to get the hell out of my office.”

“Oy!” He snapped back – he understood Chris was in a bad mood, but the man crossed a line by talking about Victor like that.

“Oh what? Listen, I’m sick of tip-toeing around both of you idiot’s feelings for once. If that upsets you, talk to Victor about it.”

Yuuri considered arguing for a moment, then decided against it, simply pulling up Victor’s contact and calling. The other man picked up on the second ring.

“Chris? Don’t tell me I need to be back…”

He sighed in relief at hearing Victor’s sleepy voice. “No, no, it’s me. Yuuri. My phone is still dead and I couldn’t get a charger… I just wanted to let you know I got back safe and I wanted to check on you.” He stuttered a little, all too well-aware of Chris’s eyes on him.

Victor cooed. “That’s sweet. I’m sorry I missed you when I came home… are you coming here again, or…”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll go back to mine I think, and at least change. Then… well, I guess I’ll get to work. There’s bound to be something even I can do.”

His lover chuckled. “I’m sure just having you around the office would make things better – for me at least. If you don’t mind, I’m going back to sleep.”

“Of course. Sleep well.”

“Thanks. And… thanks for the pictures.” Victor said with a low purr – Yuuri squeaked and ended the call without replying. He hadn’t expected it, and being reminded of those while standing in Chris’ office – no. Just no.

He handed the phone back.

“Great. You’ve arranged your next hookup? Then if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

Yuuri frowned at the other man. He’d never seen him be so… well, such an asshole. There was no nicer term for it.

“Why are you being so mean? I’m sorry you’re stressed, but I’m really not okay with you talking about Victor like that. Isn’t he your friend?”

Chris slammed his laptop shut.

“Yes, Yuuri. He IS my friend. And unlike SOME people, I have no issue at all admitting this.”

He stepped half a step back. “W-What? What are you talking about?”

“Oh right, you STILL haven’t figured it out. Well unfortunately for you, I don’t have the time to slow-walk to something you should have figured out MONTHS ago. Now GET. OUT.” Chris snarled – and before he could think better of it, Yuuri had already slammed the door shut behind himself, his heart racing.

What in the world had just happened?

He awkwardly stumbled towards the elevator, trying to work out what had just happened to him.


	17. Chapter 17

Victor woke up surprisingly well-rested given the few hours of sleep he’d gotten. It faded a little when he got dressed and headed for the office again.

Well… at least things could only get better now that Yuuri was back.

Or so he thought.

Before he even got in, Chris texted him – ‘My office.’

Nothing else.

That was… not like his friend. Still, he knew Chris had it worse than him by half, so he headed straight there, barely waving hello at familiar faces around the office.

Chris was sitting at his desk, looking positively wrecked – it was the first time, actually, that Victor had seen him unshaven. The light-brown beard shadow really didn’t suit him, not that he liked beards on men anyway.

“Hey. What’s up?” He greeted his friend.

Chris looked up and rubbed both hands over his face. “I… may have fucked up. With Yuuri.” He said – and Victor’s blood froze in his veins.

“What happened?”

“Yuuri came in here, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and I lost my temper at him. I… he didn’t deserve it but I said a few things I shouldn’t have.”

He took a deep breath trying to stay calm – the last thing he needed to do was push Chris when he was in such an awful state already. “What did you say?”

Chris winced. “I’m not sure. I don’t actually… remember? Not really. I’m… I’m really exhausted. Sorry.”

“Right… well what did you ROUGHLY say?”

His friend winced again. “I called you his boy toy and hookup. And then I sort of lectured him that he was months late in figuring his stuff out.”

Victor’s sanity was crumbling at the edges as he weakly sank into one of the chairs opposite of Chris’s desk.

“W-Why would you say things like that?”

Chris rubbed his face again, harder this time.

“I know! Look, I know I messed up, okay? Just… I’ve been so stressed, and then this morning this guy I was seeing said he wasn’t interested anymore, and…” The other man broke off, but honestly, Victor understood.

He was torn between sympathy for him and panicked anger at what Chris had done – not that he really knew what that was. Yuuri hadn’t contacted him again – not since that call. Not so much as a text even though his phone was no doubt charged by now.

He checked his phone again – nothing.

“W-What am I supposed to do?” He questioned, not really expecting an answer from Chris. “W-What if he…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Chris looked genuinely upset. “I _know_. Trust me, I know I messed up big time. I just… he caught me at the worst moment. I’m really sorry.”

Victor took another look at his friend and then took a deep breath.

He firmly pushed Yuuri and their relationship out of his mind. He had to deal with this first.

“Right, okay. Here is what’s going to happen. You are going to get up, right now, and go home. You need to sleep. You’re no good like this. Sleep, shower, eat something that doesn’t come from a microwave. THEN come back and sort the rest of this out.”

“What? No, I can’t go home I still have to-”

Victor slammed his hand down. “No. You have to do nothing other than go home and get some rest. I’ll take care of things here. Go. Now.”

It told him a lot that Chris actually stood and headed to the door – he wasn’t one to just take orders.

Chris paused briefly in the door and looked back. “Thanks. And I’m genuinely sorry. I hope… I hope I didn’t damage anything that can’t be repaired.”

He nodded weakly, and watched Chris slink away, stumbling a little.

* * *

Yuuri was having half a panic attack – he’d been on the cusp of one for probably hours now. It was getting to the point where he almost wished his anxiety would just commit already – even a full-blown attack had to be better than what he was feeling.

His encounter with Chris circled through his mind faster than he could think – and it slotted in dangerously well with other things.

Chris had said he should have figured something out months ago. Months ago, when he’d still thought Victor was an escort. Months ago, when he’d slowly been falling for a man he thought wasn’t available.

And then Chris had said all sorts of mean things about his own friend – about Yuuri’s lover. He’d implied… that it was just sex.

Had he been trying to tell that was what Victor thought? No, clearly he hadn’t been trying to subtly imply anything. He certainly wouldn’t have been so… angry for that.

It didn’t make sense.

‘Do you?’ Chris’s voice echoed in his mind for the thousandth time, and suddenly he thought back to the other talk he’d had with Chris – where it had been him revealing something he hadn’t meant to, where Chris had sardonically questioned his and Victor’s understanding of their feelings for each other.

His legs gave out and he sank to the floor of his bedroom with a choked off wheeze – he couldn’t breathe.

Apparently, that was the puzzle piece his anxiety had been missing, he distractedly thought as he felt himself melt into a full-blown panic attack the likes of which he hadn’t had in years.

He tried to remember what he’d internalised in his younger years – stay calm, breathe through it, it will pass on its own.

He shifted a little to sit more comfortably on the floor, trying to drown out the voices that were screaming at him, the same things over and over. Nothing he’d considered before… but it made sense.

That was the worst of it. Now that he’d thought it, it made PERFECT SENSE.

He whimpered, leaning his arms against the bed, hoping it would allow him to breathe more easily.

It didn’t.

* * *

Victor groaned into his coffee cup. It wasn’t his first… and it wouldn’t be his last. He’d set up shop in Chris’s office, dealing with the man’s more pressing workload instead of his own. Chris really had gotten the worst deal – clearly, Victor had severely underestimated the work his friend did before.

In his defence – it was _HR_. Nobody thought about HR unless they had to.

Still, the amount of paperwork Chris now had for each employee that left – he’d counted between ten and fifteen pages with signatures for each individual employee that was leaving. There were over a hundred fifty people going, and that didn’t even TOUCH the restructuring and replacing of essential functions in other departments.

Victor had put order to the mess on Chris’s desk. Using his notes, he’d stacked up all leavers and those who were staying and could be reassigned – then he’d started with the IT files, because he’d done the prep work for those himself, and he could therefore sign off on them more quickly. The other departments didn’t come as easily to him, but he’d spent enough boring business dinners with other C-levels to have a vague idea about things.

At least, he figured, if things didn’t work, they could always fine-tune them later.

He devoted himself to getting as much done as possible in as little time as possible – the less time he had to… think, the better.

He still hadn’t heard from Yuuri, and he was too scared to get in touch himself. He had NO idea where Yuuri was at, be it emotionally, mentally, or even physically, and he didn’t have it in him to contemplate any of it.

It was bad enough that the very real possibility of an end of their relationship was dangling over him now. No, it was much easier to deal with his company falling apart.

That, at least he could fix – and if nothing else, it was definitely easier to find a new job than to replace what he knew without a doubt was the love of his life.

He drank down the gross, cold remnants of his coffee and opened up a new folder.

Work.

He could freak out over Yuuri later.

* * *

Yuuri was still shaking fifteen minutes after his panic attack had faded to the point where he could function again. He was standing in the shower, letting overly hot water run down his back and arms. He was still breathing hard too – he didn’t think he’d ever had an attack that hit him like that, and for so long at that.

He had deliberately kept his mind blank for as long as he could, to let himself recover before trying to actually mentally acknowledge what was going on.

Unfortunately, he was fresh out of ways to distract himself… which meant that he had to acknowledge that there was a definitive and obvious connecting factor between his last two conversations with Chris, Victor’s odd behaviour during their trip… and frankly, quite a few other moments too. Like when Victor had started asking about something and changed his mind – he could suddenly remember half a dozen such incidents, and somehow, he’d written every single one off as nothing.

Honestly, he could kick himself.

But Chris had, apparently known – which meant that Victor had told Chris, which meant that he had to be REALLY upset about it.

And it was all Yuuri’s fault.

He’d honestly assumed that it wasn’t possible for a person to fuck up worse than when he’d mistaken his own company’s CIO for an escort – but then, he’d thought the same when he’d realised how obviously Victor had fallen at least a little bit in love with him during their stay in the Maldives.

Apparently, he’d been wrong, because this time felt worse than the other two combined – particularly because there was no excuse. At first, Victor had kept secrets, then they hadn’t been talking at all… but no, this time it was all just Yuuri taking half a conversation in a hotel room as proof that Victor didn’t need Yuuri to tell him how he felt.

It sounded stupid even to himself.

He’d been so happy, so willing to accept that it was like that, he’d never even considered he could be wrong.

He snapped the temperature control the other way, wincing when the water changed to freezing and bit into his too-hot skin.

Good – he deserved the pain.

How in the WORLD could he make it up to Victor? Would the other man even want that? Yuuri couldn’t blame him if he was finally sick of his nonsense.

He couldn’t even fault him for not saying anything – for all that he hadn’t figured ANYTHING out on his own, he could absolutely understand how Victor was too hurt from what had happened between them to actually say the words himself.

So far, it had always been Victor who had gone out on a limb, who had taken a risk, who had… made a gesture.

Yuuri froze for a moment, before awkwardly turning the shower off.

A gesture.

He’d certainly never made one unless sex counted – and however good it was, sex DEFINITELY didn’t count there and then.

Which was odd, because he wanted nothing more than to show the world he was with Victor – he LOVED being out on dates with him, because that meant he could show the beautiful man off at his side.

Because… he loved Victor.

Of course he did.

So why had he never told him?

Not because he couldn’t – entirely because he’d assumed he didn’t NEED to.

Yuuri had to FIX THINGS.


	18. Chapter 18

Victor dropped onto his couch with a sigh – he was finally back in his own office, having passed HR back to Chris, who had come back shaved, showered, and apparently rested. He’d barely said a word to his friend though – and Chris hadn’t called him on it either.

He’d walked out, checked his phone on the way up – no word from Yuuri – and had sat down, letting himself rest for a few moments. It was well out of working hours already, but that didn’t mean he could just go home – nor did he want to.

No, home was where he could think, and he wasn’t up to that yet.

His phone rang – and after nearly falling off the couch, his heart racing, he checked… not Yuuri. He sighed and picked up Yakov’s call.

“Victor. Do I still have a company?”

“You did half an hour ago.” He replied frostily – he wasn’t in the mood for Yakov’s attitude.

“Watch your tone. I’m not so decrepit that I won’t remember this when this all blows over.”

He mentally rolled his eyes.

“What do you need?”

“A status report. I’ve tried the others, but most of them seem to be home and asleep.”

“That’s because it’s one in the morning, Yakov. Try Chris, he should be up. I’m almost done reassigning people, which means I will then schedule non-essential tasks and programs, until everything is either covered or postponed.”

The other man grunted his approval. “And is HR dealing? Lilia took most of them with her, didn’t she?”

“Well, she did personally recruit a lot of them, so yes. They’re dealing, but they all need time off when this is done.”

“We all do, we all do. She, uh, she’s filed the paperwork. For the divorce.” Yakov said awkwardly – and suddenly Victor realised he wasn’t JUST calling for an update. Yakov… didn’t have very many friends. That was his own fault of course, but Victor wasn’t unsympathetic.

“You knew she was going to. It… just, show it to your lawyer, let him work it out, and then sign whatever they give you. Don’t draw it out.” He politely said – he had no idea what advice to give someone in Yakov’s situation.

“Yes yes, I know… I just wish she’d talk to me. She won’t take my calls, she’s blocked me on Facebook, I don’t know what to do!”

He cleared his throat. “You should probably give her some time. A few days. When she’s calmed down, she’ll talk to you.”

Yakov barked a laugh. “Yeah? You think? That woman is still holding a grudge that I didn’t get the car door for her on our second door and that was _before the invention of mobile phones_ , Victor!”

Victor hid his wheezing laugh in a cough, but he wasn’t sure if it sounded genuine. “How, uh, how long were you together?”

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that, brat! A bit over 45 years. High school sweethearts in Moscow, you know…” He sighed wistfully and Victor twitched – he did NOT need the rundown of the other man’s relationship, thanks very much.

"You should get some rest. That’s why I called." Yakov gruffly continued. "To tell you and the others still working to rest up. The board and the C executives all have meetings tomorrow. The ones in the afternoon are with some people from the overseas offices and I’ve pencilled one in with the execs of what Lilia is putting together – no idea if that is happening yet, though.”

Victor half-listened – once Yakov had said rest, he’d stopped caring about just about everything else.

“That sounds good. I’ll be back in the office at eight then.” He hurried to say, but before he could hang up, Yakov scoffed.

“Seven. I’ll be in at quarter past to prep you and the others for the meetings. It’s time I got back in the game myself.”

Yakov hung up and Victor groaned – it was decidedly NOT time for Yakov to get more involved… but if he was going to, Victor’s life just got about a third more complicated than it had been a moment ago.

He angrily threw the phone to the other end of the couch where it bounced and settled screen up, as if to mock him.

Just as well, he decided, leaving the thing as he headed downstairs – he wasn’t even going to take the damn thing with himself – not when all he was using it for was staring at the black screen, fretting about when – or if – Yuuri was going to call.

* * *

Yuuri was half-crawling up the walls with anguish. This time not over what was happening – he’d mostly accepted that already. No, it was about how to FIX what he’d screwed up… and the short answer was he had absolutely no clue.

He couldn’t ask for help either – Chris might just kill him if he tried, and he would go back to Japan before he’d confess to Phichit what was happening – at least, until it was resolved. He didn’t doubt Phichit would, in fact, find out… but not from him, and definitely not yet.

No, he was alone in this.

And he was absolutely lost. He had no idea about how to make a gesture. He understood dates, and he knew how to show his affections – but how could he engineer a romantic situation to actually tell Victor how he felt?

They didn’t have time to go anywhere, or to do anything. It was the worst possible timing with their company tearing itself apart… but sadly, the rest of the world wasn’t about to pause until he figured his stuff out.

He groaned as he pulled on a shirt for work. He was exhausted – even sleeping for several hours hadn’t exactly helped him get over the state of exhaustion his anxiety attack had put him in – and he had the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn’t feel better until at LEAST after he’d fixed things.

Or tried to fix things.

The fact that Victor hadn’t contacted him, suggested…

No, he decided.

He’d assumed and inferred enough. Victor hadn’t contacted him, and he was busy. Those two things Yuuri knew, and everything else he wouldn’t even allow himself to think.

No, he had to plan as if Victor was in fact still willing to wait for him… and all that while also going to work, because he couldn’t well _not_ help when everyone else was doing their best.

He wasn’t sure how good his best would be given that it took him _three_ attempts to get his shoes on the right feet, but he hoped that it would make at least some difference.

The ride to work passed in an unpleasant blur of faces and sounds and then he was actually at work – one of the first to arrive, it seemed, because the accounting department was empty. He pulled his emails up with a sigh – with nothing else to do, he decided to work through the backlog until someone told him otherwise.

That, at least, was the plan.

It worked fine for about fifteen minutes… because that was when he spotted a familiar face.

Chris.

Without conscious input from his brain, his body dove under his desk, to stop the other man from seeing him. He was still scolding himself for being an idiot in his little cubicle when he realised Chris wasn’t alone – and that he knew the man with him.

Phichit.

“Man, that’s rough. I can’t believe all that’s been going on and _nobody told me_.” Phichit said, audibly annoyed.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you either, but…”

“Hey, it’s cool, I can keep a secret. I just prefer not to.”

Chris snickered. “Yes, well, please do keep this one. I’ve already met my quota for ‘horrible things to do to friends’.”

They shared a weak laugh.

“Honestly though, don’t beat yourself up. It takes a LOT more than what you said to really scare Yuuri off.” Phichit said confidently. Yuuri nearly banged his head on his desk when he snapped it up – they were talking about… him?

Oh god.

“I don’t know about that. I mean, I said some nasty things, and Yuuri was already not the most… committed.”

Phichit snickered in a way that made him want to kick his friend.

“Yuuri? Not committed? Honestly, he was probably already planning their retirement together when he still thought his beau was a hooker.”

Yes, he was definitely going to kick Phichit.

“You think?” Chris asked, sounding sceptical.

“I wish you’d come to me about this sooner. I speak ‘Yuuri’ fluently and I can 100% confirm, my boy is as smitten as he can be.”

Chris sighed in obvious relief. “Then I guess I haven’t ruined it all yet. I’ve been toeing the line for months now, with those two.”

It sounded like Phichit patted Chris on the arm or shoulder. “Don’t worry. Yuuri is incredibly nice. I’m sure he understands you were stressed. He won’t be mad at you for long. And about the other thing…” His friend cleared his throat and Chris groaned.

“That I can’t help you with.” Phichit admitted. “Yuuri is a bit… slow with some stuff. But, if Victor just said something…”

“I’ve been tilting at that windmill for weeks now, not happening.”

“Well one of them will no doubt cave.” Phichit half-asked, half-said as he rummaged around on his desk, the cubicle over from Yuuri’s own.

“I’d hope so. Honestly, it’s so ridiculous. All Victor wants is for Yuuri to say the words. It’s not hard, is it? ‘I love you.’ There. A toddler can say it.” Chris groused – and Phichit, the traitor, laughed heartily. It seemed he’d found what he wanted, because he slammed his drawer shut so loudly it nearly rattled Yuuri’s teeth – to be fair, he was sitting almost directly next to the damn thing.

“Thanks, but you’re not my type. I agree, honestly, but what can I say? If he even figures it out, odds are Yuuri will overthink it to the point of ridiculousness, probably.”

He was seriously contemplating coming out from under his desk, just to sort Phichit’s crap out when he was saved by the ring of a phone – Chris’s, he assumed, because it wasn’t Phichit’s ringtone.

“Damn the meetings are starting. I can leave you in charge of delegating to HR?” Chris asked.

“I’m your man!” Phichit chirped. “I’m glad I was able to help you out so much.”

“I appreciate it. That, and you listening to me whine about this over coffee.”

Phichit huffed. “Please, don’t worry. I actually love the drama. I’m not dating, so I have to live vicariously through Yuuri and Victor, you know?”

After a long pause, Chris sighed. “I wish I didn’t, but I sort of get what you mean.”

Yuuri stayed under his desk until long after their shared laughter had faded away and the elevator had pinged to signal its arrival and presumable pick-up of the two.

What. The. Hell.

* * *

Victor was seriously considering resigning himself.

He had money, he didn’t NEED to work – and absolutely nobody needed to sit through as many meetings as he had already gone through, ESPECIALLY with even more yet to come. He was fairly sure that was a violation of the Geneva convention, at the very least?

He groaned, sipping some water from the bottle he’d snagged in one of the rare breaks in between the meetings.

He hadn’t had a moment to himself – Yakov had been hovering nearby all day. He wasn’t sure why it was him of all people that Yakov had decided to stick to, but he also wasn’t too surprised – they’d known each other ever since Victor had started at the company in an entry-level role, and he didn’t doubt that Yakov liked having another Russian around as well, in a sea of Americans.

Not that that made it any less annoying.

“Lunch?” Yakov asked brusquely, tearing him from his thoughts.

“Do we have the time?” He asked – he wasn’t kidding, they had another meeting scheduled in just ten minutes.

“Well, I’m hungry. Surely there is a microwave here somewhere? To make food in?”

He sighed. “Sure. I’ve seen some pop tarts I think.”

Yakov gave him an odd look.

“What… are pop tarts?”

Victor took a deep breath – he was fairly sure he deserved a knighthood if he made it through the day, or even that next meeting – they were only one off the one that Lilia was supposed to attend personally.

* * *

Yuuri was completely ignoring his work and aimlessly spinning in his chair.

He was too busy _thinking_ to do anything else.

What he’d overheard between Chris and Phichit – and when had those two become friends anyway? – had made his fretting even worse.

Like he hadn’t already been scrambling for ideas on how to make that gesture to Victor, Chris and Phichit had to come out, and… well, they hadn’t known he was there.

Honestly, he was REALLY glad they didn’t know he’d hidden under his desk like a toddler trying to avoid bedtime.

He’d never live that down – and he was already dealing with plenty of embarrassment even without that. More than stew in his own embarrassment though, he was thinking about what Chris and Phichit had so obviously agreed on.

Firstly, he was a little upset that his friend had basically called him thick-headed and oblivious. Of course, Phichit had a POINT but that didn’t make it any less… okay, it was Phichit.

He sighed.

More than that though, Chris had said Victor just needed to hear the words… and Phichit had said he’d overthink it. He didn’t THINK he was, but… could he tell? Was thinking about some grand gesture overthinking it? Surely just going up to Victor and telling him wouldn’t do?

Definitely not after how long he’d already made the other man wait for no damn reason.

Unless… unless that was exactly what Phichit had meant?

What DID Victor want? What was he looking for?

Yuuri had already screwed up in not realising Victor had feelings for him in the first place, and then again in not realising he STILL did and going out with an actual escort. That was plenty screwing up then and there, but was he doing it again?

Surely a proper love confession needed to be, well, a big deal?

He groaned quietly and pulled out his phone. Calling Phichit again after what he’d just overheard was out of the question… and really, he had no other friends that were up to date on his personal drama.

Which meant he had to figure it out himself.

Historically… not one of his strengths.

He sighed deeply and put the phone away. Surely, he could think things through rationally? He was smart, he knew that.

Probably.

Victor had been waiting for him to say it. Chris had been trying to get him to realise he wanted to hear it, and Yuuri had been oblivious. So far so good. Phichit was convinced he’d overthink it – not as outrageous an assumption as he wished it was – and Chris had pretty much explicitly said that all he needed to do was say the words.

It all pointed at the exact same thing – well, two things. One, that he was a dumbass, and two, that he really just needed to go up to Victor and say the damn words.

He felt them with every cell of his being, so it wasn’t exactly some huge stretch.

Determination flooding him, he stood and headed to the elevator. He needed to find Victor.

Now.

A confused HR employee was more than happy to point him to where Victor was – meeting room 2A, 17th floor.

Yuuri had no idea why he wasn’t in his office, but paid it no mind. He was on a _mission_.

His eyes all but zeroed in on the door to the meeting room, not that he’d ever seen it before.

He blurred out everything else, his fingers shaking a little as he fumbled the doorknob trying to get it open.

He succeeded, immediately stumbling into the room, already focused on the man sitting at the far end of the table.

Victor was typing something on his laptop, and he was visibly shocked to see Yuuri. He opened his mouth – no doubt to ask Yuuri why he was there – but Yuuri was faster.

“Victor Nikiforov, I’m in love with you.”


	19. Chapter 19

Victor was seriously considering that he was having a stroke. Surely that was the only possible explanation for why he _thought_ he was seeing a flustered and flushed Yuuri Katsuki standing in the meeting room he was in, as was the rest of the board, plus Yakov and Lilia.

Everyone had frozen at the unexpected interruption, and Victor was fairly sure that once Yuuri had spoken up, they’d all stopped breathing too.

He could feel heat crawl up his cheeks – his blush was no doubt pretty spectacular. His hand had lifted to cover his mouth, but there was no way he could hide his reaction – he could feel the tips of his ears burning.

Which didn’t make sense, unless he’d really heard what he’d just heard.

That was, Yuuri telling him, in plain English, that he was in love with Victor.

They’d all been frozen for at least half a minute already, but it was only just really sinking in.

That… that Yuuri, his Yuuri, had just stormed into an important board meeting, interrupted _Yakov Feltsman_ mid-sentence, in order to declare his love for Victor.

He was starting to feel a little dizzy with how hard he was blushing, when he noticed that Yuuri was blushing too, and fidgeting a little.

“It… could you… say something?” The accountant stuttered awkwardly – Victor resolutely stood.

“I love you too… but that’s a conversation we should have alone.”

He watched as with comical horror, Yuuri seemed to only just realise they were not, in fact, alone.

Fighting the urge to giggle, he stepped around the large meeting desk, side-stepping Lilia who seemed to be snickering quietly, in order to get to Yuuri… who looked like he might just flee all the way back to Japan, going by his expression.

Victor grabbed his hand, just in case – no way was Yuuri running away without taking him along.

“Come on… let’s go and talk.” He softly said, pulling an unresisting Yuuri out the door.

* * *

Yuuri wasn’t entirely sure what was happening anymore. It had started when Victor had pointed out that they weren’t alone – he’d somehow missed that over a dozen other people were there in the meeting room, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM had been staring at him.

Including CEO Feltsman and his wife.

And he had… made an absolute fool of himself.

And Victor – who had taken on the colour of an overripe tomato – HADN’T SAID A WORD.

That was probably the worst part. His lover hadn’t said anything at all.

Until he had.

Except that hadn’t helped either because then something or other had happened – he was fairly sure that he’d blacked out after Victor had pulled him out of the room – because the next thing he was consciously aware of was that Victor was nudging him through a doorway and into… a McDonald’s?

He obediently sat down when Victor urged him to do so, and the other man disappeared for a few minutes – he came back with a tray covered in food – yes, they were definitely at a McDonald’s.

The question was just… why?

“Because I was hungry and this was close… also I was feeling like junk food.” Victor chirped happily, making Yuuri realise he’d said that out loud.

Victor handed him a cheeseburger and he unwrapped it like a puppet on strings.

It didn’t taste like much of anything when he bit into it, but Victor seemed to be enjoying his own food, so it was fine… right?

Victor’s hand snuck across the table and gently grasped Yuuri’s free hand.

“So… you really did that, huh?” The gorgeous man asked in between bites.

“Did I?” Yuuri found himself asking. “I mean… I’m not actually sure I did. Maybe I’m just hallucinating?”

Victor laughed happily. “That’s what I thought. I certainly wasn’t expecting it. Were you trying to surprise me Yuuri? Because you succeeded.”

He frantically shook his head, awkwardly pulling his hand back to get the horrible pickle out of his burger.

“N-NO! I didn’t realise you weren’t alone. And I just…”

“You weren’t planning on declaring it so publically? What made you realise so suddenly anyway?”

He blinked. “What made me realise what?”

Victor flushed and glanced away. “That you… that you love me.”

He stared at Victor as if he’d grown a second head.

“What… realise? Victor I’ve known for _ages_. I just… I thought you knew.”

Victor visibly swallowed his latest bite and set the burger down.

“But you never said.”

Yuuri winced. “I thought… in the hotel, we agreed that we’d… said what needed to be said.”

* * *

Victor thought back to the day in the hotel… and just like that, he could feel tears streaking down his cheeks. Yuuri immediately panicked in front of him, nearly knocking over his drink because he was fussing around to give him a napkin. Victor accepted it but just stared as his tears dropped onto the scratchy material.

He wasn’t even sure why he was crying, except…

“I-I was embarrassed. In the hotel. And hurt from before, and I’d missed you, and then and there in that moment it WAS enough.” He eventually said, dabbing away his tears. “But then I figured you would eventually… say.”

“I thought you knew.”

And Victor DID, didn’t he?

“I know that you… care. That you like me. Y-You’re incredibly considerate and kind, but whether that’s love or not…” He shrugged weakly.

Yuuri gave him a long look. “You didn’t say anything because you didn’t want to be the one taking a risk again, right? It took me a REALLY long time, but I figured it out.”

“And when did you figure out that you… loved me?” He tentatively asked, hoping his voice didn’t sound as frail as he feared.

Yuuri flushed slightly and shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe… well, by the time I left New York, I was sure. I just… it was a lot.”

Victor sighed. “That it was. Is. Is it… too much?” He found himself wondering – he couldn’t blame Yuuri if he wanted something simpler, more straight-forward.

Yuuri’s response was a dazzling smile. “You could never be too much. I’m just sorry I made you wait.”

He waved him off – he’d all but forgotten already. It didn’t matter anymore – because Yuuri had finally said it. He laughed weakly, suddenly a bit overwhelmed with the _how_ , actually.

“And you chose SUCH a romantic way to tell me!”

His lover whimpered. “R-Romantic? You think barging in on a board meeting and randomly blurting out that I love you is _romantic_? Victor, I thought I was going to get _fired_!” Yuuri whined.

He laughed good-naturedly. “Oh don’t you worry. I’m pretty sure HR owes you a favour for being rude, and the CIO would DEFINITELY not let you get fired!” He declared with a wink – to his relief, Yuuri’s reaction was a small smile.

“Yes, well, I’m pretty fond of the CIO too. Speaking of, were you… needed in that meeting?”

He snorted and picked his burger back up – his hunger was back with a vengeance.

“Honestly no. The meetings today have ALL been stupid and unnecessary. Just Yakov and Lilia working things out.”

“Y-You’re close to Mr. Feltsman?”

He shrugged. “Close enough. He’s the one who owns the house in California – don’t know if I told you.”

Going by Yuuri’s face, he’d almost definitely forgotten to mention it.

Ah well.

“Should we… go back?” Yuuri tentatively asked.

“Probably.” He confirmed and bit into his second burger.

“Uh… are we going to?”

He snickered. “Absolutely not. You think I’m leaving your side after you so dramatically swept me off my feet?” He winked at Yuuri again – and to his surprise, the other man smirked.

“Well if I remember right, you are the one who swept me away. I don’t even remember coming here.”

Victor laughed. “Yeah, you were a bit out of it. Do you… should we go home? Er, to my place.” He corrected himself – no matter how much time Yuuri had spent there, it wasn’t his home.

At least not yet as far as he was concerned.

“You know what, I would love to hug Makka after the day I’ve had.” Yuuri said with a soft chuckle.

“Only Makka?” He fake pouted.

Yuuri stuck his tongue out and stole a few of his fries.

"We should probably talk to Chris. Him saying that stuff to me is what... finally got me thinking." He said after swallowing.

"And tell him what?" Victor asked.

"Uhm... an apology? An explanation? A thank you? I don't even know."

Victor rubbed a hand over his face. "He's going to be _insufferable_ after this, you know. Constantly reminding me that he told me so, and he's the reason we... talked."

Yuuri cleared his throat. "Or we could... not. Tell him, I mean."

"I wish that was an option, but he'll know. He _always_ knows." Victor lamented.

He tried to hide his grin - it seemed Phichit and Chris had a lot in common.

Frightening, really.

"I say we just send him flowers and a voucher for a spa." Victor suggested. "We don't have to be there when he gets it which means he won't be able to be smug about it."

That sounded great, actually. 

Quite suddenly, Victor twitched and fumbled out his phone.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot this was on silent..."

"Any missed calls?"

Victor cleared his throat. "We should definitely not go back to the office."

"Oh?"

"Two calls from Lilia, seven from Yakov... and ohh, he texted me."

"Why is that special?"

"I didn't think he knew how." Victor said - Yuuri was going to laugh until he realised that Victor was serious.

"What does it say?"

"Hm..."

Victor squinted at his phone before grinning broadly. "He sent 'you are dude to me'... I'm pretty sure he meant dead."

They looked at each other for a second before both of them started HOWLING with laughter.


	20. Epilogue

“Victor, what do you think about this one?” He called out to his lover, who was ambling around in the kitchen behind him.

Soft footsteps pattered over and Victor leaned down on his shoulders heavily, pressing a kiss to his temples.

“Looks good. Is it close to the office?”

“Close enough. It has a garden, and four bedrooms.”

Victor huffed. “Only four? Yuuuuuri, we’ll get bored!”

He took a deep breath – they’d had this conversation. He'd THOUGHT Victor had seen sense on the matter.

“We don’t NEED that much space!”

“Yuuri, nobody needs three or more spare bedrooms. You get them because you can, and so you can maybe turn a few of them into… well, themed rooms.”

The other man teasingly licked the shell of Yuuri’s ear.

That… was an idea, actually.

He tried to imagine one of the bedrooms in the style of one of those BDSM clubs - not that he'd ever been to one. Victor in a sex swing, or bent over and handcuffed to something, or maybe even one of those big X things he'd seen pictures of... yes, that could work.

“Then it should be a place that doesn’t have neighbours too close…” He muttered mostly to himself.

“Ohh, I like the way that you think. Let me finish putting this away and I’ll come help you look!” Victor chirped before sauntering off. Yuuri grinned after him.

“You know that I love you, right?” He called after the other man.

Victor beamed at him before practically skipping away.

* * *

Victor was floating through his house – not that it would be his house for much longer. No, he and Yuuri were hunting for a new place. They had a pretty strict budget – Yuuri had INSISTED that they each pay half, and it was his pay that limited them there – but there were quite a few decent places they’d already seen online.

But that wasn’t why he was floating – no, the reason for THAT was entirely Yuuri.

Okay, that was a bit too general – it was Yuuri’s recent behaviour. The man had gone from not ever telling Victor he loved him to doing so daily. Somehow, it caught him off-guard every single time too – and he knew Yuuri was doing it on purpose.

At first, he hadn’t been sure, but he’d soon caught on the little smirk that Yuuri wore when he’d once again ambushed Victor with the words.

He’d definitely spent a lot less time swooning over Yuuri before that had started.

Okay, spent a _little_ less time swooning.

The effect was actually deeper than Yuuri probably realised – and Victor was absolutely not going to tell him how much it meant to him that Yuuri had adjusted his behaviour.

The only issue with it was that Victor, who had always considered the odd ‘love you, me too’ exchange plenty of affirmation in a relationship, suddenly found it WASN’T anymore. And since Yuuri picked all the best moments to mention it, and Victor was usually WAY too out of breath after sex, that left him with preciously little opportunities to say it first.

It made him feel inadequate, and yet also stupidly happy – and he’d branched out to compensate. He’d learned to see the appeal of how Yuuri normally showed his affection VERY quickly. He’d started to specifically do small things for the other man, and the way Yuuri lit up every time he did made him feel a little faint every single time.

His chores done, he wasted no time in hopping straight into Yuuri’s lap – the other man easily accommodated him, hardly even looking away from the screen he was studying.

“How do you feel about basements?” Yuuri asked.

His mind immediately snapped to some kind of sex dungeon they could set up… he squirmed.

Yuuri gave him a level look.

So he knew what Victor was thinking.

Oops.

He grinned, unabashedly.

“I have no feelings at all about basements. Just bedrooms.”

Yuuri gently carded his free hand through Victor’s hair and he leaned into the motion.

“I can tell.” He said with a small smile, before his eyes trailed lower, along Victor’s form on his lap.

“Honestly, any place is fine with me as long as it has you, Makka, and plenty of bedrooms.” Victor declared before looping his arms around Yuuri’s neck.

It was true – he didn’t care about architecture or any of that, even though Yuuri seemed surprisingly interested.

He pressed a kiss to Yuuri’s neck.

“Well… me too, to be honest.” Yuuri said, ignoring entirely how Victor was squirming around – although he could feel the other man’s rising… interest against his ass.

“Ohhhh, how do you feel about skylights?” Yuuri gasped as if he wasn’t even there.

“Sure, love them.” He agreed, his fingers trailing under Yuuri’s jumper.

The other man seemed to finally catch on to the fact that Victor was REALLY not listening, because he shifted a bit, closed the laptop, and then leaned back on the couch to properly look at Victor.

He took the opportunity to lean up over Yuuri and look down into his gorgeous brown eyes.

“I love you, Victor.” Yuuri said in a low, intimate voice.

He whined quietly – his lover had beat him to it AGAIN.

Yuuri chuckled. “If I’d known how much you like hearing that, I would have told you ages ago. I have some catching up to do!”

The other man grinned, his hands possessively running up Victor’s sides.

He’d had some kind of witty response, he was sure he had, but when Yuuri tightened his grip and leaned up to kiss him, he couldn’t think of a single word to say.

That… was fine with them both.


End file.
